TV travel guide Rick Steves announces cancer diagnosis | Culture

Traveler and TV travel guide Rick Steves announced on Wednesday that he has cancer.

In a social media post, Steves said that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and plans to have prostate surgery in late September.

“There is a clear path forward to getting healthy,” Steves said, adding: “I have great trust in my doctor and in Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. And I have lots more to be thankful for … including the support of friends and loved ones and a strong faith that I’m in good hands.”

Until the surgery, Steves said that his doctor has approved him traveling to France to film for his travel TV show for the next few weeks.

Steves hosts the show, Rick Steves’ Europe, and runs a travel blog for Americans going to Europe. He has also written and produced guidebooks, and runs a travel tour program, among other ventures. His goal, he says, is to encourage Americans to broaden their perspectives through travel.

On his YouTube Channel, where he has over 1.8 million subscribers, Steves posts videos about European architecture and art, among other things, and his tour program brings more than 30,000 people to Europe annually, according to his website.

His website states that he started Rick Steves’ Europe in 1976, and he is based in his home town of Edmonds, Washington, near Seattle.

Since 2019, Steves’ company has invested $1m annually to help fight climate change and “creatively mitigate our carbon footprint”.

The funds are invested in organizations that fight climate change in two ways, his website states, one being “by helping farmers in the developing world employ climate-smart agriculture technology” and the other “by advocating in the halls of government to take the threat of climate change more seriously”.

In his statement on Wednesday announcing the cancer diagnosis, Steves said that throughout his life, he has been “fortunate to have never spent a night in a hospital”.

“I find myself going into this adventure almost like it’s some amazing, really important trip,” he said of the cancer diagnosis. “I feel good about my positive attitude – and I expect to take home some delightful, if intangible, souvenirs like: appreciating and seeing a vibrancy in the little things; appreciating the goodness in people and the treasure of friends and family; being wowed by modern medicine and the army of amazing, smart, and dedicated people that make it possible; appreciating what a blessing life, health, and this world to enjoy is; and – just in general – being more thankful.”

He added that he is looking forward to “many more years of happy travels, exciting collaborations, and beautiful friendships”.