Charles Krauthammer, the longtime Fox News commentator, says his cancer has returned and he has weeks to live. Krauthammer made the announcement in an open letter Friday.

Krauthammer, 68, has been in the hospital fighting complications from a surgery he underwent last year to remove a cancerous tumor in his abdomen. He said it caused a "cascade of secondary complications."

He said his cancer has now returned and doctors said he only has a few weeks to live.

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"This is the final verdict. My fight is over," he wrote.

"I wish to thank my doctors and caregivers, whose efforts have been magnificent. My dear friends, who have given me a lifetime of memories and whose support has sustained me through these difficult months. And all of my partners at The Washington Post, Fox News, and Crown Publishing," he added.

He also thanked his colleagues, readers and viewers, who "have made my career possible and given consequence to my life's work"

"I believe that the pursuit of truth and right ideas through honest debate and rigorous argument is a noble undertaking. I am grateful to have played a small role in the conversations that have helped guide this extraordinary nation's destiny," he said.

In 1987, Krauthammer won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in Commentary for his "witty and insightful columns on national issues" for the Washington Post. He later became a panelist on PBS' "Inside Washington" and eventually joined Fox News as a political analyst.

"Charles has been a profound source of personal and intellectual inspiration for all of us at Fox News," Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of FOX News and 21st Century FOX, said in a statement. "His always principled stand on the most important issues of our time has been a guiding star in an often turbulent world, a world that has too many superficial thinkers vulnerable to the ebb and flow of fashion, and a world that, unfortunately, has only one Charles Krauthammer. His words, his ideas, his dignity and his integrity will resonate within our society and within me for many, many years to come."