Rick Steves Reveals Cancer Diagnosis in Moving Social Media Post

Beloved travel writer and TV personality Rick Steves revealed he’s been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will take a break from filming his travel show.

Steves, whose long-standing public television show “Rick Steves’ Europe” has been a staple in many travelers’ lives, said in a Wednesday post on X he will plan to film two new shows in France before returning to his home in Edmonds, WA, by mid-September for surgery. He said he expects to “be laid up for a month, and — God willing — be cancer-free and back at it by the end of October.”

The travel expert also shared that “there is a clear path forward to getting healthy,” however, since he’s never spent a night in the hospital, he referred to his upcoming stay as an “adventure almost like it’s some amazing, really important trip.”

He also asked for “travel tips” for the “journey.”

“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 continued.

As of Thursday afternoon, his post had been viewed more than 700,000 times, and had received more than 26,000 likes and more than 2,300 comments.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men in the United States, especially for those over 50, according to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Typically, the cancer is slow-growing and has a five year survival rate of 97 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.

While Steves will have to take a break for his cancer treatment, the travel expert told Travel + Leisure earlier this month that being out of his comfort zone is why he does what he does.

“It’s the magic juice of travel that motivates us with our tour program, our guidebooks, and our TV shows,” Steves told T+L. “We want to help Americans be bold and enthusiastically get out of their comfort zone so they come home with a broader perspective.”