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"The National Cancer Institute says that we are survivors from the moment of diagnosis," he said. "I will continue to do the broadcast. On good days, my voice will not always be like this. Certainly, it's been a long time. And I hope it goes without saying that a journalist who doesn't value deeply the audience's loyalty should be in another line of work."
Jennings admitted he was a former heavy smoker who quit 20 years ago, only to resume while covering the 9/11 attacks. He was said to be too ill last weekend to cover the Pope's death, and hadn't been feeling well for some time. His doctors kept him from going to tsunami-affected Southeast Asia last year, citing an upper respiratory infection.
Jennings first broke the news about his cancer to friends and colleagues in an e-mail, and word about it quickly traveled – a fact that surprised the newsman. As did the kindness that poured out from people far and wide. His chemotherapy will begin next week.
"Finally," Jennings did say on the air, "I wonder if other men and women ask their doctors right away: 'Okay, doc, when does the hair go?'"
