Rush Limbaugh says he has 'advanced lung cancer'

The conservative radio pundit Rush Limbaugh is hated by many, but beloved by his coterie of fierce fans. “The Rush Limbaugh Show” has been going strong since 1988. The conservative radio pundit Rush Limbaugh is hated by many, but beloved by his coterie of fierce fans. “The Rush Limbaugh Show” has been going strong since 1988. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP // Getty Images Photo: Jim Watson/AFP // Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Rush Limbaugh says he has 'advanced lung cancer' 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh said Monday he was diagnosed with "advanced lung cancer" and will be missing some shows for treatment.

“This day has been one of the most difficult days in recent memory, for me, because I’ve known this moment was coming,” Limbaugh said on his show. “I’m sure that you all know by now that I really don’t like talking about myself and I don’t like making things about me… one thing that I know, that has happened over the 31-plus years of this program, is that there has been an incredible bond that had developed between all of you and me.”

Limbaugh, 69, said he first noticed symptoms on Jan. 12 and received the same diagnosis from two medical institutions.

“I thought about not telling anybody,” he said. “It is what it is. You know me, I’m the mayor of 'realville.' This has happened and my intention is to come here every day I can and do this program as normally and competently and expertly as I do each and every day, because that is the source of my greatest satisfaction professionally, personally.”

“But there are going to be days that I’m not going to be able to be here, because I’m undergoing treatment or I’m reacting to treatment,” he said.

Limbaugh's longtime "The Rush Limbaugh Show" was nationally syndicated on the AM and FM airwaves in 1988. He has produced the show live from his home studio in West Palm Beach, Fla., since 1996. The influential pundit is loathed by many, but beloved by his coterie of fierce fans.

Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.