Christian Anchor Dave Benton Reveals That Brain Cancer Has Left Him With 6 Months to Live; Says Everything Is in God's Hands
A born-again Christian anchor, husband and father of two from Illinois, has evoked a nationwide outpouring of support after revealing on live television that he has inoperable brain cancer and has about six months to live.
Dave Benton, the 51-year-old WCIA-TV news anchor's calm delivery of the news that he expects to die in a few months has been viewed more than 1 million times since his announcement was posted on YouTube last Friday.
"As you know, I told you a few weeks ago that my brain cancer is back. What I have learned in the last few days, as I have seen doctors several times, I'm learning more about what my future holds," Benton said in the run-up to his revelation.
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"Basically, my cancer is back, and it's too big for surgery and radiation. Doctors have told me that I have four to six months to live," he shared.
Benton explained that he will be trying an anti-body treatment as well as chemotherapy to slow down the growth of his cancer to have a few more days of life, but ultimately, he said, he is leaving everything in God's hands.
"The goal here is to have a few more days and to make them the best that they can be in the life that I have," said Benton. "As you know, I'm a born-again Christian. I believe that I'm in God's hands. I'm at peace and I know that he's going to take care of the days ahead. And that the goal here is to have the best ones possible," he added.
The Christian Post reached out to Benton, who is a member of Holy Cross Catholic Church, for an interview Monday, but he was not available for comment at the time of publication. He told the News-Gazette that his plan right now is to be with his family and keep working for as long as he can.
Benton was first diagnosed with glioblastoma last November after doctors discovered a tumor on the left side of his head. Glioblastoma is a highly malignant and aggressive form of cancer, according to the American Brain Tumor Association.
The anchor said he was surprised by the diagnosis because he doesn't smoke or drink and exercises regularly.
The first sign that something was wrong came about a month before he was first diagnosed. He started having trouble reading and then he began experiencing non-stop headache.
After a tornado hit Gifford, Illinois, on Nov. 17, Benton recalled being able to ad lib on air but the day after that he could barely read a script and ended up in the emergency room.
His co-anchor Jennifer Roscoe, who has worked with him for nine years, said she was the one who urged Benton to visit the ER after the work incident.
"I was thinking stroke. It's just so completely unfair that such a good man is being taken from us," said Roscoe to News-Gazette.
Since his cancer diagnosis, Benton said that it has been an emotional time for his family. He believes his 23-year-old daughter, Lauren, a graduate student in Chicago, and son, who is in the Air Force, have blessings ahead of them and wants them to pursue their dreams.
"The goal is for them to know that while I may not be here, we will always be connected," he said. "It will be sad when I'm gone, I'm sure, but they have their whole lives ahead."
"I feel we are pretty strong right now. We are focused on every day is a good day."
