Charles Krauthammer, Famed Columnist, Says He Has Weeks To Live

Famed Washington Post columnist and Fox News commentator Charles Krauthammer informed readers Friday that an aggressive form of cancer first treated 10 months ago has returned, likely leaving him only a few weeks to live.

He has long been a leading conservative voice with a column syndicated in more than 400 newspapers, but hadn't written or appeared on television since August of last year, when he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his abdomen. He said Friday that the surgery was thought to have been a success but has returned and is spreading rapidly.

He disclosed his condition on The Washington Post web site under the simple headline, "A note to readers."

"My doctors tell me their best estimate is that I have only a few weeks left to live," he wrote. "This is the final verdict. My fight is over."

A New York City native, Krauthammer, 68, won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1987 and became a prominent fixture on Fox News beginning in 2002.

In his announcement Friday, he thanked colleagues, readers and viewers.

"I believe that the pursuit of truth and right ideas through honest debate and rigorous argument is a noble undertaking," Krauthammer wrote. "I am grateful to have played a small role in the conversations that have helped guide this extraordinary nation’s destiny.

“I leave this life with no regrets,” he added. “It was a wonderful life – full and complete with the great loves and great endeavors that make it worth living. I am sad to leave, but I leave with the knowledge that I lived the life that I intended.”

Here is the full text of the announcement by Charles Krauthammer that he has only a few weeks to live.

Photo courtesy of Fox News.