‘Dilbert’ creator Scott Adams doesn’t expect to live much longer – Chicago Tribune

“Dilbert” creator Scott Adams revealed Thursday that his health is deteriorating and his chances of recovering from advanced prostate cancer are “basically zero.” He suggested he could die within the month.

During a live stream of his podcast Real Coffee with Scott Adams, the controversial cartoonist said he had spoken to his radiologist a day earlier “and it’s just bad news.”

“The chances of me recovering are virtually zero,” Adams, 68. “I’ll let you know if that changes, but it won’t.”

“Things are changing quickly,” Adams added, saying January would likely be “a transition month one way or the other.” He plans to continue working, following the news and using his podcast and social media to comment on U.S. and international politics “for as long as it makes sense.” He said he likes to stay engaged, even though he knows he “has much bigger problems.”

Adams’ revelation comes two months after he publicly called on President Donald Trump to help convince his health care provider, Kaiser of Northern California, to schedule an appointment so he could receive life-prolonging treatment for metastasized prostate cancer. The East Bay-based author went on to opine that Trump was the “best president ever” because he took time away from leading the country and “part of the world” to help secure his nomination.

But Adams signaled another setback last month when he revealed he had become “paralyzed below the waist” due to a tumor that had grown around his spine, the New York Post reported. At the time, he said he hoped the radiation would help him regain strength in his legs. However, on Thursday, Adams said he still had no feeling in his legs and no chance of getting it back. Most concerning, he said, was that he was suffering from heart failure, which made it difficult to breathe during the day, especially if he had a coughing fit.

“Right now I can breathe and I don’t feel any pain,” Adams said. He explained that he was willing to use painkillers if he needed to and that he was at a stage in his illness where “there’s not really a limit to what I can take.” He added: “I’ll probably smoke huge amounts of marijuana because it puts me in a sort of stupor while still feeling pretty good. »

In May, Adams announced he had the same type of aggressive prostate cancer as former President Joe Biden, a day after Biden publicly shared his diagnosis. Adams also said his illness — like Biden’s — had metastasized to his bones and that he thought he could be dead by summer. At that time, he said the illness had already become intolerable. “I can tell you I don’t have good days,” he said.

“I’m in pain, and I’m still in pain, and the pain is moving to different parts of my body,” Adams continued. “I’ve been using a walker for months now.” However, he says, he remains mentally strong. “The mental part, you know, I have it under control.”

In acknowledging his grim prognosis, Adams also said he may reach a point where he takes advantage of California’s End-of-Life Options Act (EOLOA), which allows terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of six months or less to end their lives with a doctor-prescribed medication.

Adams created “Dilbert,” a popular comic strip that revives office culture, in 1989. At its peak, his strip was one of the most popular in the country and appeared in more than 2,000 newspapers. But he was dropped by hundreds of newspapers in 2023 after he called black Americans a “hate group” and said white people should “just get away from them.” He then defended his comments.