Fare Thee Well, Peter Jennings
August 7, 2005 – 9:05 pmAs you may know, Peter Jennings, the longtime host of ABC’s World News Tonight, passed away on Sunday. The ultimate cause of death was the lung cancer that Mr. Jennings announced he had on the April 5 edition of World News Tonight.
I am floored. I remember reading in April when Mr. Jennings announced he had cancer, and I, for some reason, assumed he would battle it for a while and eventually make it through. Not for a second did I think Mr. Jennings would pass away so soon, just over fourth months after his announcement.
I think most people feel a little bit stronger tie to news anchors than other celebrities because of the familiarity factor. News anchors are on the air every week night, and whenever a network covers a major news event, the anchor generally gets more camera time than any other personality.
Alas, ABC is forced to find another face of the network many Americans will turn to in times of world changing events. Fare thee well, Peter Jennings.
2 Responses to “Fare Thee Well, Peter Jennings”
A shock to me also– his daughter was in the class above me in college; I think I only met her once or twice but it’s sad to be reminded that you can lose a parent at any age…
By Laurel on Aug 9, 2005 at 4:29 pm
I don’t think the survival rate for lung cancer is very good. If they get 12 months, I think they’re lucky.
“In spite of the large number of people diagnosed with this cancer, there are only about 330,000 long-term survivors.
Nearly 60% of people diagnosed with lung cancer die within one year of their diagnosis. Nearly 75% die within 2 years. This had not improved in 10 years.
The 5-year relative survival rate for all stages of lung cancer combined is only 15%. This has improved slightly in the last few years. ”
Not very cheery stats is it? If you get it, you can only hope they catch it before it gets into the lymph nodes or you are probably going to be one of those holding the short stick.
Quite sad about Peter - I liked him best of all the anchors. Smoking is quite an addiction - doesn’t matter how smart you are, when you’re hooked you’re hooked. I know - used to smoke 3 packs a day when I was a youngster - fortunately that was one habit I gave up after 5 years and now haven’t puffed in 30. Now if I could just convince my brother…..
What was really sad to hear was that Dana Reeve had lung cancer and she hadn’t even smoked! Talk about someone who’s had enough to deal with - she must have some interesting conversations with her God.
By Mark Holmes on Aug 16, 2005 at 10:33 am