Jeff Ross revealed that his doctor used humor to reveal that the comedian had colon cancer.
“My oncologist was like, ‘Jeff, the good news and bad news. The bad news is you’re going to need six months of chemo,” Ross, 59, revealed during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday, June 18. “‘The good news is you lost your hair a long time ago!’”
The “Roastmaster General” underwent a laparoscopic surgery last summer after a routine colonoscopy revealed he had a tumor. He ultimately had seven inches of his colon removed as part of his treatment.
“I went in, I had no symptoms, and I had a tumor in my colon. You always think it’s never going to happen to you, and it happened to me,” he explained to host Jimmy Kimmel, before joking, “Now, I have a semicolon.”
Ross encouraged Kimmel viewers to actively monitor their health, since he never had a colonoscopy until he was in his 50s. He is now sharing his cancer journey in the upcoming Broadway show Jeff Ross: Take a Banana for the Ride, which will run from August 5 to September 29, with opening night set for August 18, at the Nederlander Theatre.
During his interview with host Kimmel, 57, Ross said he was motivated to go public with his diagnosis because his close friend Norm MacDonald kept his own nine-year cancer battle quiet before his death in 2021.
Jeffrey Ross in February 2025. Ethan Miller/Getty Images
“I don’t want the show to be maudlin, but I think it’s important to address it. Norm was very private and hid his sickness,” Ross told Kimmel. “I didn’t think that was fair to the audience and his friends, so I’m putting it out there. But I don’t want people to feel sorry for me. [The Broadway show is] going to be a very empowering and bold statement on how to get through tough times.”
Ross also jokingly bragged about getting some unexpected street cred from his laparoscopic surgery.
“You know, I had laparoscopic surgery so I have holes around [my chest], little holes,” Ross said. “I’m like 50 Cent if, instead of getting shot, he ate pastrami twice a week for 50 years.”
While Ross stressed that he’s on the road to recovery, he suffered another health setback earlier this year. He confirmed in April that he’d been hospitalized after a gig in Mill Valley, California, due to an allergic reaction to “delicious” and “seriously yummy” Burrata-flavored ice cream.
“My lips blew up and I spent the entire night in the ER,” he explained via Instagram at the time. “It was my first allergic reaction ever. I guess that’s pretty remarkable considering I’m constantly shoving whatever food is in front of me into my face. Thank you to the overnight shift at MarinHealth Medical Center for only roasting me lightly.”
He self-deprecatingly admitted that, although swelling made him look like “Mickey Rourke at the end of The Wrestler,” he would be back on stage the very next night to workshop Take a Banana for the Ride before its Broadway run.
Ross is perhaps known for his no-holds-barred appearances on Comedy Central’s celebrity roasts dating back to 2005, as well as appearing on NFL star Tom Brady’s controversial Netflix roast in 2024. He hosted Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle on Comedy Central for three seasons between 2016 and 2018, as well as the network’s short-lived comedy panel show The Burn with Jeff Ross.