Kaity Tong, anchor at WPIX New York, revealed over the weekend her battle with lung cancer. She shared that she’s never been a smoker, but the lung cancer diagnosis is more common for Asian women who do not smoke.
“If this profile fits you, I urge you to talk to your doctor and determine if you should be tested, even if you have no symptoms,” she wrote on social media. “It was through a routine chest X-ray after a particularly bad cold that my cancer was detected.”
Tong continued: “Lung cancer is a killer. But if you detect it early, the chances of survival are greatly increased.”
Tong said it is stage 1 cancer, and it was found before it had a chance to spread. Robotic surgery removed the tumor and Tong is considered cancer-free.
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“It’s a slow but steady recovery, mostly to restore my breathing to normal and to help my lungs compensate for the loss of one lobe. Baby steps,” she said.
Tong has been off the air for a few weeks and hopes to be back on in mid-January.
She thanked her surgeon, Dr. James Isbell, and staffers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
“I want to thank all of you for letting me share this news,” she added. “If my journey helps even one person who fits this profile to get tested, leading to early detection, I will be grateful.”
Mission Broadcasting owns WPIX, a The CW affiliate. Nexstar Media Group operates the station.
Tong anchors the 5 and 10 p.m. weekend news on the station, referred to on-air as PIX11. She joined the station in 1992 and anchored the 10 p.m. weeknight newscast. She previously worked at KPIX San Francisco, KCRA Sacramento and WABC New York, among other stations.
