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Larry King, 83, reveals secret lung cancer battle

The 83-year-old was diagnosed with the deadly disease during a routine check-up

larry king
Hanna Fillingham
US Managing Editor
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Larry King has been secretly fighting lung cancer this year. The 83-year-old TV host received the terrifying news during a routine visit to the doctors, where he was told that "something looks funny". Talking to US Weekly, the star explained that after a chest x-ray, his doctor said that something wasn’t quite right: "They said the spot looked pretty small. ... I then did a CAT scan then a PET scan and then he said to me, 'You have lung cancer, but it looks very small, in the beginning stages.'"

larry king© Photo: Getty Images

Larry King was fighting lung cancer earlier in the year

Because Larry's malignant tumour was caught in the early stages, he was thankfully given the all-clear after it had been removed, taking off 20 percent of his lung with it. Revealing a conversation with his doctor, who branded him "lucky", Larry said: "The doctor said to me, 'It was malignant but you were in the first stage. If it had stayed and we didn't find it, you would have had trouble in two or three years, but we got it and you were lucky.'"

larryking2© Photo: Getty Images

The TV star is now feeling better than ever 

Despite giving up smoking in the 1980s, doctors told Larry that the tobacco he inhaled was "still related" to his cancer. Now, the Larry King Now host is feeling better than ever, and doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. "I would like to do six months on Broadway," he revealed. "I'd like to do an evening with Larry King where I tell stories and take questions from the audience…That would be on my bucket list."

On his general wellbeing, Larry said defiantly: "I have beaten so many things health-wise to feel this good now. I have no plans to retire. I've never ever felt better than I do now."

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