KTTV assistant news director Pete Wilgoren missed covering the presidential election because he is battling bladder cancer, he announced Sunday in a blog post.
Wilgoren, who was elevated to the position of assistant news director for the Los Angeles Fox station in June, said that he has undergone several surgeries so far. He writes:
I’m a journalist. It was written into my DNA a long time ago as I woke up every morning watching the Eye Opener in Boston. News is my life. It’s how I’ve made my career. And it kills me to be sidelined during a big story.
AdvertisementBut here’s why I am.
I’m home recovering from my second TURBT. That’s the trans urethral resection of a bladder tumor. Yes, in a 2020 that was unpredictable and at many times unforgiving, 2020 dealt me an unexpected surprise in Bladder Cancer.”
Wilogren shared details about his diagnosis and symptoms, which began when he first noticed blood in his urine in May:
I had been feeling a little weird down there and went to get checked out in urgent care. They gave me antibiotics and urged me to follow up with a urologist which I did. It led to a summer of tests and some follow up tests and a camera test called a cystoscopy where right there as I watched, the doctor said, “See that? I believe that’s bladder cancer. And THAT is what caused the bleeding.
The assistant news director is waiting on results to see if the cancer cells are staying away. If all goes well, he’ll undergo immunotherapy treatment.
For now, though, Wilgoren writes, “I’m home, heavy on pain meds, hobbling around like an old man for a few days. As the Presidency was just announced, and the celebrations are happening across the country, I’m laid up in bed recovering.”
You can read his full post here.