Kathy Griffin Returning To Movies
- After beating lung cancer, Kathy Griffin continues living her best life, announcing on Instagram that she’s back on a movie set.
- The announcement came right after she made her triumphant return to standup comedy at a benefit hosted by pal Rosie O’Donnell.
- Lung cancer, the second most common type of cancer, is the leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women in the United States. Griffin developed lung cancer as a non-smoker, which is a less heard of occurrence. Diagnosis and treatment of the disease can be tricky since symptoms often don't appear until the cancer has spread.
In a new Instagram post, the 61-year-old comedienne showed off a messy new hairdo, all part of a new character she’ll be playing in an upcoming film.
Read MoreView this post on Instagram
What movie she’s working on is unclear. According to IMDB, her only upcoming project is a role on a TV series called Unconventional which "Follows queer siblings, Noah and Margot Guillory, and their significant others and the challengers they have to overcome as they try to start an unconventional family in an unstable world during their thirties."
The news that Griffin is returning to film comes just days after she made her triumphant return to standup comedy at a benefit organized by pal Rosie O’Donnell. In a video posted to her Twitter account, fans can be seen giving her a rousing standing ovation at her first standup gig since lung cancer surgery almost cost her her voice.
First night back doing standup since cancer surgery. @Rosie put together a great benefit show for Friendly House Women's Recovery Center. ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™ pic.twitter.com/7JEkRyOpQp
Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) July 17, 2022
Kathy Griffin’s Cancer Battle
After telling the world about her stage 1 cancer diagnosis in August, 2021, she underwent surgery to have half of her left lung removed, as the cancer seemed to be contained there. The cancer was cut away during the procedure, but the surgery caused complications such as losing her voice.
She once said in an interview that losing the ability to make other people laugh made her lose a lot of want to live; the comedian is very open about this dark stage of her life, and she's just as transparent with the details of how to get through it all.
How Positive Thinking Can Help After A Cancer Diagnosis
Kathy's focus on hope backs anecdotal evidence from SurvivorNet experts that point to how a positive mindset can impact a cancer prognosis. Dr. Zuri Murrell, a colorectal surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview, "My patients who thrive, even with stage 4 cancer, from the time that they, about a month after they're diagnosed, I kind of am pretty good at seeing who is going to be OK. Now doesn't that mean I'm good at saying that the cancer won't grow," he says.
"But I'm pretty good at telling what kind of patient are going to still have this attitude and probably going to live the longest, even with bad, bad disease. And those are patients who, they have gratitude in life."
Mental Health: Maintaining a Positive Headspace
The Facts About Lung Cancer
Lung cancer, the second most common type of cancer, is the leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women in the United States. Griffin developed lung cancer as a non-smoker, which is a less heard of occurrence. Diagnosis and treatment of the disease can be tricky since symptoms often don't appear until the cancer has spread.
An initial symptom, for example, could be as serious as a seizure if the lung cancer has already spread to the brain. But other symptoms can include increased coughing, chest pain, unexplained weight loss, shortness of breath, wheezing, losing your voice or persistent infections like bronchitis or pneumonia.
The two main types of lung cancer are non-small cell, which makes up 85 percent of cases, and small-cell. These types act differently and, accordingly, require different types of treatment.
Dr. Patrick Forde, a thoracic oncologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, tells SurvivorNet about how distinguishing between the two types and their subtypes can be very beneficial.
"Within that non-small cell category, there's a subtype called non-squamous adenocarcinoma, and that's the group of patients for whom genetic testing is very important on the tumor," he explains. "Genetic testing is looking for mutations in the DNA, in the tumor, which are not present in your normal DNA."
What Happens When You've Been Newly Diagnosed With Lung Cancer
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.