Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh announced on his show Monday that he has been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer.
Limbaugh, 69, said he has begun treatment for the cancer, but didn't go into details.
"My intention is to come here every day I can and to do this show as normally and as competently and as expertly as I do each and every day, because that is the source of my greatest satisfaction professionally," Limbaugh said on the show. "I've had so much support from family and friends during this that it's been tremendous. I told the staff today that I have a deeply personal relationship with God that I do not proselytize about. But I do and I have been working that relationship tremendously, which I do regularly anyway, but I've been focused on it intensely for the past couple of weeks."
Limbaugh said he first reported shortness of breath near his birthday in the middle of January, then had two professionals diagnose the cancer.
"There are going to be days that I'm not going to be able to be here because I'm undergoing treatment or I'm reacting to treatment," he said.
He also said he felt like he was letting his staff down and didn't "want to burden anybody."
Limbaugh launched his career as a DJ on a Pennsylvania radio station in 1971 and continued moving up the food chain, including joining New York's WABC in 1988 for his nationally syndicated show, just before the Republican National Convention.
His voice is now heard on nearly 600 stations around the country.
Routinely recognized as one of the most listened-to hosts on the air, Limbaugh has faced a number of controversies over the years, including accusing Michael J. Fox of faking or exaggerating his Parkinson's symptoms and calling veterans who oppose the Iraq War "phony soldiers."
In 2012, Limbaugh blasted Georgetown University Law School student Sandra Fluke, who had spoken to House Democrats about mandatory insurance coverage for contraceptives, as a "slut" and a "prostitute."
He has also aligned himself stridently with Republican talking points and views, attacking abortion, minorities and climate change scientists.
Limbaugh said Monday that he will miss his next few shows while he and his doctors work on the next course of treatment.
