Rush Limbaugh, the conservative talk radio host, said on his show on Monday that his lung cancer had grown worse and was “going in the wrong direction” despite treatment.
“It’s tough to realize that the days where I do not think I’m under a death sentence are over,” he said, according to the transcript from his show.
Mr. Limbaugh, 69, first told his listeners in February that he had advanced lung cancer and that he had noticed some shortness of breath. He said he would continue working, aside from taking a few days off to undergo testing and determine a treatment plan.
But on Monday, he said he wanted to update his listeners on his health and how the disease was affecting it, saying the ups and downs were like “a roller coaster at times that you can’t get off of.”
“And at some point you can decide, you know, this medication may be working, but I hate the way I feel every day. I’m not there yet,” Mr. Limbaugh said. “But it is part and parcel of this.”
He said he underwent a treatment about two weeks ago that showed “some progression of cancer.” Before that, scans had shown “we had stopped the growth,” he said. “It had been reduced, and it had become manageable.”
He said of the “recent progression” of the disease: “It’s not dramatic, but it is the wrong direction.”
Mr. Limbaugh has long been one of the most prominent commentators in the right-wing media sphere, embracing its popular talking points over the last 30 years. Last month he told millions of his listeners to disregard any suggestion that climate change was to blame for the wildfires in California and the Pacific Northwest.
He has been a staunch ally of President Trump, who awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the State of the Union address in February, a day after Mr. Limbaugh announced he had cancer.
Awarding the radio host, Mr. Trump told Mr. Limbaugh he was being recognized for “the millions of people a day that you speak to and that you inspire.” His selection as a recipient of the country’s highest civilian honor also drew criticism, with some recalling his opposition to the Affordable Care Act and his attack of Sandra Fluke, a law student whom he denigrated after she spoke to a congressional hearing about birth control.
On Oct. 9, as he was recovering from the coronavirus, Mr. Trump spoke with Mr. Limbaugh on his radio show in what the host billed as “the largest virtual rally in radio history.” Over two hours, Mr. Trump aired various grievances and Mr. Limbaugh tried to reassure his audience that the president was the best man for the White House.
