Pittsburgh Radio: KDKA-AM's Marty Griffin Discloses Cancer Diagnosis

Marty Griffin

News/Talk KDKA 1020 AM personality Marty Griffin said Monday morning that he has been diagnosed with human papillomusvirus (HPV), which precipitated the cancer.

Griffin, 59, urged parents to strongly consider getting their children vaccinated .

Griffin, who left his longtime position as an on-air reporter with KDKA television last month, recently launched the website Sparkt.com , a new marketing and branding company.

His diagnosis began with the recent discovery of a lump under this chinm according to triblive.com.

He has undergone surgery and plans to take his listeners along “from soup to nuts,” he said Monday morning.

As Griffin noted, his particular type of cancer has a high survival rate .

“I will start chemotherapy and radiation (Tuesday) morning” and stream the treatment live on his website, Griffin said.

During his morning show lead-in, he said he’s “going public” and streaming his treatment to educate the public.

“As I go through this journey, it’s my hope that we can raise awareness,” Griffin says.

Throughout the morning, he spoke with physicians, including those who are treating him, and took questions from callers.


Among his guests was Dr. Robert Ferris of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center , where Griffin is being treated.

Some parents fear, Ferris said, that giving the vaccine sends a message to teens that it’s OK to become sexually active.

“Teenagers are going to do what they are going to do,” he said.

He also said there has been some concern expressed that the vaccine leads to autism, a concern that has never been proven true.

“It’s a cost-effective way to prevent cancer,” Ferris said.