For many years, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Charles Krauthammer was a regular panelist on Fox News’ “Special Report,” among other programs, where he provided incredibly astute political analysis in regard to the events of the day.
Krauthammer hadn’t been seen or heard much over the past year, as he was recovering from a little-discussed ailment, but it was hoped he would return to the air in the near future … until he just revealed that he only has a few weeks left to live.
In an open letter posted for colleagues, friends and supporters to read, Krauthammer disclosed that his absence these past ten months was due to surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his abdomen, followed by complications which delayed and prolonged his recovery.
Though he had been close to recovering from that surgery and the setbacks, it was discovered about a month ago that his cancer had returned in an even more aggressive form and was spreading rapidly.
“My doctors tell me their best estimate is that I have only a few weeks left to live. This is the final verdict. My fight is over,” wrote Krauthammer.
Krauthammer issued his heartfelt thanks to the doctors and caregivers who had treated him, as well as the close friends who had supported him during the several difficult months of recovery and setbacks he faced.
He further issued thanks to all of his colleagues, friends, readers and viewers who had made his career possible in the first place, and expressed his gratitude for the “small role” he’d been allowed to play “in the conversations that have helped guide this extraordinary nation’s destiny.”
“I leave this life with no regrets. It was a wonderful life — full and complete with the great loves and great endeavors that make it worth living,” Krauthammer wrote.
“I am sad to leave, but I leave with the knowledge that I lived the life that I intended,” he concluded.
Charles Krauthammer was beloved by his colleagues, friends, readers and viewers not just for his common sense and in-depth analysis of the day’s political news, but also for the inspiration he provided through his own personal story of overcoming adversity.
[show_poll poll_id=379]
Krauthammer had been paralyzed from the neck down following a diving accident at age 22, yet he had persevered and graduated from Harvard Medical School with a degree in psychiatry, transitioning into politics just a few years later.
Over the past few decades, his columns and TV appearances have earned him respect and admiration from many across the political spectrum. He will be sorely missed.