‘Big Bang Theory’ star Kate Micucci gives health update 3 months after lung cancer surgery: ‘I turned a corner’
“Big Bang Theory” alum Kate Micucci is “feeling very grateful” three months after undergoing unexpected lung surgery.
Micucci makes her return to acting as a guest star on Tuesday night’s episode of “Night Court” (8 p.m. on NBC) when the wacky Wheeler family returns to the series’ universe 30 years later to reunite with Dan Fielding (John Larroquette).
Brent Spiner and Annie O’Donnell reprise their roles as hard-luck couple Bob and June Wheeler; Micucci plays their now-grown daughter, Carol Ann.
“This was a perfect way to get back into it,” Micucci, 43, told The Post. “I’m still dealing with [the after-effects of her surgery]; I still get a cough, occasionally, like a little coughing fit, and I’m so fortunate that I’m OK.”
“I was pretty much able to be myself [while shooting ‘Night Court’] and not be in too much trouble,” she went on. “Sometimes I would go outside and cough a little bit and come back in.”
Micucci, who doesn’t smoke, was diagnosed with lung cancer last fall after it was detected on a blood test. She underwent surgery in mid-December and shared the news on TikTok.
“I just had to do one surgery and that was it,” she said. “I didn’t need to do chemo or anything. They found it early, but the crazy thing about it was [that] I had no symptoms.
“They found it on a heart scan, so I think that I got so lucky or there would’ve been a world in which I wouldn’t have known about this for a very long time,” said Micucci, who’s one half of the comedic singing duo Garfunkel & Oates. She also played Lucy in “The Big Bang Theory,” among many other TV roles.
“It was one pretty big surgery, but now I’m OK,” said Micucci, who’s married to recording producer Jake Sinclair, with whom she has a 4-year-old son.
“They took 20 percent of my right lung, so when I’m running or if I’m singing a long time … I’m working on getting my stamina back.
“I am so lucky, and I’m feeling really great and I turned a corner in the past couple of weeks,” she continued. “Every day I wake up and I’m like, ‘Wow, I feel like I won the lottery.’ “
Micucci said her health scare gave her a new perspective on life.
“I have a new take on everything,” she told The Post. “When I got to the Warner Bros. lot [to film ‘Night Court’] that first day, I started crying. Not to sound too cheesy, but I was thinking, ‘I can’t believe I get to be a part of this, to be a part of a sitcom where everyone loves the show.’ “
“I was feeling very grateful and was smelling all the flowers on the lot and having a moment,” Micucci said. “It’s a perfect way to jump back to being on camera, and I’m feeling better each week and getting a little better.
“I’m almost there.”
