Marc Summers, best known as the former host of Nickelodeon's game series "Double Dare," is opening up about his battle with leukemia.
During an interview with Philadelphia radio station WMMR on Monday, Summers told radio hosts Preston Elliot and Steve Morrison that he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2010 and underwent two years of chemotherapy.
Summers, who was an executive producer for Food Network shows including "Restaurant: Impossible" and "Food Feuds," said he was reluctant about discussing his medical condition because he worried that the news would affect his career.
"I've been sort of keeping something secret for the last five years, and I guess I'm ready to talk about it now, and that is: I was diagnosed with cancer five years ago," the 63-year-old father-of-two said. "You know, in show business, if you talk about that stuff, it's hard to get hired afterward...And I've sort of compressed this thing and it's made me nuts."
Summers revealed that he almost opened up about his leukemia during an episode of Oprah Winfrey's Where Are They Now? - which he appeared on last year - but did not feel as much of an Emotional connection to Whitney then he did with WWMR's Preston and Steve.
"I was diagnosed with something called chronic lymphocytic leukemia," Summers said, quoted by the Daily Mail. "I was having stomach problems and in severe pain, went to a hospital, and they took 17 and a half inches of my small intestine out."
When I woke up, I said - because I'm a stand-up comic, just trying to make light of the situation - 'Hey doctor, do I have cancer?' And he said, 'As a matter of fact, you do.' And that sort of freaked me out. And he said, 'You need to get to an oncologist right away.' Well, man, those are the words I don't wish on anybody," he continued.
Summers, who is in remission, said the doctors gave him six months to live, but their results were wrong.
"I've sort of compressed this thing and it's made me nuts," Summers shared. "I thought it was time to come out. I'm not covering up anymore-I've had it, I'm in remission and I'm ready to move on."
