Roger Ebert Cancer Returns, Takes “Leave of Presence”

EbertfestMovie critic Roger Ebert has been diagnosed with cancer again. The 70-year-old already lost his voice and much of his jaw after battling thyroid and salivary gland cancer. In his recent blog post, he said that he will take a “leave of presence”:

The immediate reason for my “leave of presence” is my health. The “painful fracture” that made it difficult for me to walk has recently been revealed to be a cancer. It is being treated with radiation, which has made it impossible for me to attend as many movies as I used to. I have been watching more of them on screener copies that the studios have been kind enough to send to me. My friend and colleague Richard Roeper and other critics have stepped up and kept the newspaper and website current with reviews of all the major releases. So we have and will continue to go on.

At this point in my life, in addition to writing about movies, I may write about what it’s like to cope with health challenges and the limitations they can force upon you. It really stinks that the cancer has returned and that I have spent too many days in the hospital. So on bad days I may write about the vulnerability that accompanies illness. On good days, I may wax ecstatic about a movie so good it transports me beyond illness.

I’ll also be able to review classics for my “Great Movies” collection, which has produced three books and could justify a fourth.

Roger Ebert was the nation’s foremost movie critic on television on shows such as “Sneak Previews” and “At the Movies.”

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