Robin Quivers, Howard Stern’s longtime radio wing-woman, announced last week that she would be undergoing "a procedure" to remove a newly discovered tumor on her bladder, a procedure that reportedly was performed on Wednesday, May 23.
Quivers was noticeably vague with her initial statements on the issue, stating on-air on “The Howard Stern Show” on Monday, May 14 only that she would undergo "a procedure" to remove a grapefruit-sized growth on her bladder, which had awakened her the previous weekend, preventing her from urinating. Reports Examiner.com, following the emergency, Stern’s co-host of more than 30 years had a CAT scan, which revealed the tumor, and came to work the following Monday attached to a catheter.
“When you see me, I’m peeing,” Quivers joked. “It could be something not so bad. It could be really bad ... Hopefully it's something that can just be cut out.”
In response, Stern replied sarcastically, “Think of me for once. You'll be dead and I'll still have to do the show."
It was also Stern who suggested Quivers’ surgery took place on Wednesday, offering an emotional tribute to his cohort during his broadcast that day, and commenting on her absence, "Doing a show without Robin is like cutting off my left arm. Or my right arm. Or maybe both.
"She was my backbone, you understand," Stern said. "Where I would lose courage, Robin always had the courage. She always is the brave one. Always the brave one with me. I could go to her, and I could always rely on her.”
While the results of the operation are unknown, the 59-year-old Quivers mentioned she’s had non-cancerous fibroid tumors in the past, and is hoping the current condition is similar. Also reported by Examiner.com, “The Howard Stern Show” producer JD Harmeyer is equally out of the loop on Quivers’ condition, remarking, “I know as much as the audience does. Clearly she doesn’t want the full details of what’s she’s going through out on the air, because she hasn’t given the full details and I think the less people here who know the full details, the better chance she will have of them not spilling out.”
Stern has said a few times now he would not continue the program without Quivers, which may not be a far stretch considering his current position as co-host of “America’s Got Talent,” and ongoing contract dispute with SiriusXM radio, which broadcasts his show. Reports USA Today, after signing a five-year contract with the network in 2010, the self-proclaimed King of All Media sued the company for $300 million in March 2011 over a bonus dispute. The suit was dismissed by a judge in April, citing the ambiguous language of his contract, but Stern said he will appeal.
Whether or not Quivers’ potential exit would be reason enough for Stern to cut ties with the satellite radio company is speculation, but the host appeared disheartened by his colleague’s struggle.
"I'll f***ing kill you if you have cancer," said Stern when he heard the news. "I'm not doing the show without you… I'm quitting if you're not doing the show."
"Oh, don't make me cry," she replied.
Related content: