“[C]ontempt for me and my audience has backfired. It has only served to coalesce and strengthen us… I know who you are — and I am constantly grateful, never wanting to take you for granted. The point is this: my understanding of my audience grows directly from my faith in the character of those who make this country work… You are the ones trying to hold the society together in the face of a full-frontal assault on your values … and you are doing it all with the help of God and your family.” — me, See, I Told You So, 1993

“The strength and the courage, the energy that I get is from my audience.” — me, eib, 3/9/09

“[T]he bond that you and I have as host and audience is one that the media can’t break, despite their efforts … and it’s the single greatest thing I appreciate about my success, that being that it’s yours. It wouldn’t have happened without you. The fact that you’re there each and every day and have been for [decades] is something I can never properly thank you all for other than to say it, and it seems so insufficient when I say it.” — me, eib, 10/14/09

As you know, last January I was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. Now, reaching this one-year milestone has led me to get sentimental and thankful about all the blessings that have accrued to me. Looking back over the past 12 months, there were days I didn’t even think I would be here now. There were days that I thought even if I were here, I wouldn’t still be on the air. So one of my big blessings is that I’m alive and kicking and thriving. And I take every good day as a good day and try to be as normal as normalcy permits. It’s hard to escape the attitude that I am a cancer patient, but I try.

At home I’ve got the greatest support system that you could possibly imagine — unconditional support. Over ten years ago, Kathryn and I said “I do.” Folks, I have to tell you, a lot of people get do-overs; a lot of people have false starts. I had my share. I got this one right, thank God. I cannot imagine this past decade without Kathryn in them, especially now, while living with cancer. She’s just been a gigantic pillar of strength, and she does everything imaginable to keep things as upbeat and positive as they can be. I’m truly blessed by God to have her in my life.

Stage 4 lung cancer is a very, very difficult thing for family members. The unknown is scary. And yet I am greeted each day with the best efforts that Kathryn is making to be happy and normal, while acknowledging the reality, not dwelling on it, focusing on the goodness that exists each day. And there is goodness in everything that happens. It may not be immediately apparent, but it’s there. And it will eventually reveal itself. It always does.

I know it’s hard on her. But I would be lost, I literally would be unable to process this as maturely and reasonably as I’m able to, without Kathryn leading the way through this.

You play an enormous role as well. The normal, everyday eib ratings are through the roof and continuing at a record-setting pace. Using our own computer modeling techniques, we project an audience of over 62 million people a week. More people are listening than ever before in my 32 years on air! That kind of extraordinary growth has never been seen before anywhere in media, and it’s a big deal. You’re setting records in two ways: the numbers who are listening, and how long you’re listening. It’s incredible. It’s unprecedented to have big audience growth at this stage of a long career.

I’m so happy and so proud I cannot express the gratitude I have for the support that you are showing for the program. I can’t thank you enough.

As I often say, I am doing what I was born to do. It was what I wanted to do since I was eight years old. It’s been such a privilege that I have had my entire life — to be able to do what I always wanted to do, do what I was born to do, and to do it well and to succeed at it. I have met the goals I set for myself. I’ve maintained them. Of course, there is the requirement to meet the expectations of everybody tuning in, and I’m here to provide that, and it is a blessing to be able to come here and give it a shot every day. I have been able to do it all, for the most part, on my terms. It cannot get any better. I cannot express how gratified I am that you have made this possible.

You all are so crucial in making all of this happen for me. I will never be able to pay you back. No matter what I do, I’ll never be able to thank you sufficiently for everything that you’ve meant for 32 years here. That’s more than a generation! There are some people — I call them lifers — who have been listening the entire time. It’s just phenomenal. I owe so many people so much, I’m never going to be able to adequately thank the people who are responsible for one of the greatest lives anybody could have.

We all have the opportunity starting out to make the most of whatever we want our lives to be. And we get a do-over every day. If we screw up one day, we get a chance to fix it the next day. And we’re Americans, which means we have the freedom to invest in whatever it is that makes us happy. That’s in our founding documents.

In my case, I’m grateful that I have been able to make it to today. I’m grateful that I am still able to do my radio show. I’m grateful that I am still able to have meaningful conversations and relationships with my family. I’m grateful for everything that happened. There’s so much to be thankful for, especially when right in front of you is the prospect of it being taken away.

So I wanted to share all of this with you because I share as much of these kinds of things as I can. My entire life has been blessed, and that’s a very comforting way to look at it, to have no regrets. It’s not in my makeup to have regrets anyway, because you can’t do anything about it. But literally to have no regrets, to be thankful for all of the people that I have met, all the people who are friends, for all the opportunities I’ve had, and all of the overwhelming support from across the spectrum. I can only hope that in your life, there is enough support to withstand anything that comes your way, to rise above it, to be bigger than it, and to keep you on as even a keel as possible.

I also am of the firm belief that prayers work. It’s impossible to know for sure, but that’s where faith comes in. But my faith is solid. I know how many of you are engaged in prayer for me, which means the world to me. God is a profound factor in my life. Jesus Christ is a profound factor. I have a personal relationship. I’ve not talked about it much publicly because I don’t proselytize. But I just try to give thanks every day. I pray every night to God not to disappoint you, that your prayers be answered. I do it in a respectful way.

As I mentioned after I announced my diagnosis, I remember the first time I saw video of the great New York Yankee, Lou Gehrig, announcing that he had als and thus he was retiring from baseball. He said, “Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” At the time I said, “How in the world can he think that? He’s just been given a death sentence. Is he just saying this for PR? Is this something the Yankees dreamed up to build his legacy?” I just intellectually didn’t understand how, when you’ve been told that you have something for which there isn’t a cure and you are going to succumb to it, how in the world do you then go out in front of a packed Yankee Stadium and say you consider yourself the luckiest man alive?

Well, now I understand exactly what Lou Gehrig meant. It’s because of the people who love you. It’s because of the reflection that you engage in, looking back over your life, the blessings that, in my case, my life has been. I understand it now. I consider myself the luckiest person in the world. Thank you for being part of my life. Thank you for being instrumental in making my life what it was — not “was,” is. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Do not doubt me.