By Emily Richardson | TV | December 12, 2023 |
By Emily Richardson | TV | December 12, 2023 |
Over the weekend, Kate Micucci took to TikTok to share some scary news: she’d been diagnosed with lung cancer. In a TikTok “SickTok” filmed in her hospital room, 43-year-old Kate reveals she had successful lung cancer surgery the day before:
Thankfully, they caught it early. It’s pretty weird, because I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life, so… you know, it was a surprise. But also I guess it happens. And so the greatest news is they caught it early, they got it out, I’m all good.
Phew! Even though the cancer is gone, Kate says the experience has been “a little bit of a trip” and she’ll “probably be moving slow for a few weeks.” She adds that she can’t wait to get back to painting. Oh, didn’t you know? In addition to singing, comedy, acting, and playing the guitar, ukulele, and piano, Kate is an accomplished visual artiste. And a wife to musician and recording producer Jake Sinclair. And a mom.
Kate wraps up by asking, “Why am I still talking? Cuz I’m on drugs!” Then, the SickTok cuts to footage of her cheerfully walking around the hospital, hooked up to her IV drip. Finally, we get a picture of Kate in her hospital bed posing with a banana and a tiny box of Frosted Flakes. Fin.
In the comments, people sent Kate “get well” wishes and prayers, shared their own personal experiences with lung cancer, and asked her how the doctors caught the cancer early. Did she have any symptoms? Kate answered that she got some bloodwork done, and her CRP levels came back “really high”: “So I went to a preventative doc who did a few scans. He scanned my heart and that’s where the spot in my lung was noticed.”
Here’s Kate’s SickTok:
@katiemicucci An update on what I’ve been up to. 🫁 #sicktok #hospital #imokay #solucky #sendinglove ♬ original sound - Katemicucci
Lung cancer without smoking. Damn! Just like Kathy Griffin. In Kathy’s case, she had to get half her left lung removed, and her voice has permanently changed. According to the American Cancer Society, non-smokers can get lung cancer through exposure to secondhand smoke, radon, asbestos, air pollution, and more. Sometimes, the cause is a total mystery.
But let’s end on a less depressing note. Here’s some Garfunkel and Oates: