Kathy Griffin Reveals Switch From 'Old White Man' Doctors to Women of Color

Kathy Griffin has revealed that she made the decision to switch from "old white man doctors to all women of color" following her cancer diagnosis.

The comedian, 62, announced that she was diagnosed with the disease in August 2021, before going on to reveal in November of that year that she was cancer-free.

Over the past several months, she has dealt with residual issues from the treatment she underwent, including concerns that her voice may never return to its original pitch after surgery left it higher.

In August 2022, Griffin wrote on Twitter about the surgeon who had removed a portion of her lung. Stating that her situation "sucks," Griffin said of the surgeon: "He ruined my vocal chords & my arytenoids permanently! My voice is my living."

"It's discouraging 2 me that people are sticking up 4 a surgeon who has caused me so many difficulties," she went on. "I had stage 1 [cancer]. I sure wish I had gotten chemo/radiation instead of surgery with this hack Dr."

Following her experience, the Suddenly Susan star has revealed that those tending to her medical needs are now all women of color.

Griffin made the revelation in response to a recent Twitter thread posted by writer and food historian Michael W. Twitty.

"When ppl say 'the woke virus,' it reminds me of 'drapetomania,' during enslavement which meant it was a contagious disease of the nervous system that caused the enslaved to want to run away," Twitty wrote of the widely mocked theory shared by American physician Samuel A. Cartwright in the 1800s. "In other words, its a disease to say 'Stop this injustice & inequity. You're hurting me."

Tagging Griffin in a follow-up post, Twitty proposed that the theory once applied to slaves is now used in describing women.

Twitty tweeted: "Husband points out, like 'the awful connection made between women & hysteria.' Your problem isn't mistreatment it's your womanly ways and parts (hysteria comes from the Latin for 'womb.') Blame the oppressed & marginalized and gaslight them until they internalize it."

Griffin responded to the thread by stating that similar personal experiences led to her decision to look for doctors of another gender and race.

"I have been through this so much with my cancer," she wrote from her locked Twitter account on Monday. "I had to switch from all old white man doctors to all women of color. Seriously. It was a simple as that."

Griffin revealed in March her doctors' theory that her lung cancer may have been caused by radon poisoning. She discussed details about how her cancer may have developed as she weighed in on a Twitter thread posted by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA).

Swalwell posted a message in which he declared "F*** Cancer," before asking his followers to retweet the post if they agreed with his assertion that "we should see it ended in our lifetime."

"How do we beat it?" Swalwell asked in a follow-up post. "1) Robustly fund testing/screening/therapies, 2) Unleash army of docs/scientists into field (unburdened by high cost of college/incentivized to be a part of the cures), 3) More agile FDA, 4) Robustly fund school nutrition awareness, 5) End chemical exposure."

The final point appeared to resonate with Griffin, who responded: "YES PLEASE. I had lung cancer and I've never smoked. Doctors have suggested maybe it was from radon poisoning."

A product of decaying uranium, radon is a naturally occurring gas that can be traced to soil and rock breaking down. It is odorless, tasteless and invisible, and often enters closed buildings through their foundations.

Most people are largely unaware that their homes could be putting their health at risk in this way. The only way to know if radon is in your home is to have a test done. It collects at higher concentrations indoors than outdoors, and levels can fluctuate depending on airflow in the home.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, and kills approximately 21,000 Americans per year, many of whom are unknowingly poisoned in their homes.

Several states have radon regulation programs mandating that hazards are disclosed upon the sale of a home, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.