Kasie Hunt, CNN anchor and chief national affairs analyst, recently underwent a four-hour surgery to remove a benign brain tumor.
Hunt told People that she began getting “really bad” headaches in March and made an appointment with a neurologist, which led to an irregular scan.
With the doctors unable to come to a diagnosis, Hunt’s pain increased in August, around the time she was starting her current job at CNN. Another scan showed the growth had grown, which led to the diagnosis of a brain tumor.
Last week, she had surgery to remove the tumor, which was then found to be benign.
“I mean, there’s so much still that I want to do at work and my new role at CNN. And especially with my family, my son [Mars], my husband [Matthew Mario Rivera]. There’s just so much. I’m only 36, right? There’s supposed to be so much ahead,” she told People.
Hunt announced she was leaving NBC News and MSNBC in July. She had been an NBC News Capitol Hill correspondent and host of MSNBC’s weekday 5 a.m. hour Way Too Early.
Now, she’s looking forward to getting back to work, particularly with the upcoming launch of CNN+ in the first quarter of 2022.
“I’m extremely excited about the big launch of CNN+ that the whole network has planned and the show that I have planned,” she said. “My goal is to make sure that I spend this time getting better so that show can come out of the gate really the best it can. I’m so excited about being able to build something new.”