COSTA MESA, CA (ANS) -- Rich Buhler, who is known as the “Dean of Christian Talk Radio,” has been diagnosed with an inoperable “mass on his pancreas.”

Dianne and Rich Buhler

The veteran broadcaster, author, and speaker who, nearly two years returned to the microphone to host his pioneering radio program “Talk From The Heart” on KBRT-AM 740 in Los Angeles, was admitted to a local hospital on Wednesday (July 28, 2010) after suffering from severe stomach pains.

After a biopsy, it was revealed that he had a “mass on his pancreas.”

Rich Buhler has just called me from his hospital bed and said, “I have felt better today than I have during the past few days when I have been out of it.”

He then explained what has led up to his hospitalization.

“For several months now I have had some minor abdominal pains but then it turned into severe pain and I came into the Emergency Ward of the hospital,” he said.

“I arrived here not realizing that when I would wake up the next day, I would become a cancer patient. The unofficial report that has been given to me and it says that it looks it is malignant and also inoperable.

“Yesterday, they put stent in my pancreas, and the doctors have referred me to an oncologist who will possibly treat the ‘mass’ with radiation.”

Rich went on to say, “I feel very comfortable in the hands of God.”

A colleague of Buhler told me, “Rich has not been feeling well now for a while but would someone ‘get up’ for the show, and then at the end, would be totally exhausted. We would request for urgent prayer for Rich and Dianne at this difficult time.”
 

Warren Duffy

Veteran Christian broadcaster, Warren Duffy, who filled in for Rich Buhler on Friday’s “Talk from the Heart,” told the ASSIST News Service, “All of us who are Christian broadcasters have walked into the field of talk radio through the door that Rich Buhler opened up for us when he launched his ‘Talk From The Heart’ program on KBRT decades ago. He was - and is - a true pioneer in Christian broadcasting.

“Rich and I have been friends for 25 years. We bonded back in the 80s when he was rushed to a hospital emergency room and it was feared he had suffered a heart attack. I called KBRT on an unrelated matter just after the ambulance pulled away from the station and I think I beat everybody to his bedside. We held hands, prayed together and went on to become pals.

“Rich was my fill-in host on KKLA back in 2002 when my wife Terry passed on. Rich made the announcement on the air and he later spoke at her memorial service.

“This news hits very close to home because, last year, I was diagnosed with cancer in my kidney. And wouldn’t you know it - one of my first visitors at the hospital was my buddy Rich.

“A year has since passed and I am still cancer free. But now, I’m once again visiting my pal at his bedside as we walk through this ‘valley’ together.

“People around the world heard about my illness through Dan Wooding's ASSIST News Service and e-mails poured into my room from everywhere. Late at night, when I was alone in my room, not knowing what the future might hold, reading those notes brought such peace and comfort to me. My spirits were literally lifted on the wings of the prayers of my brothers and sisters who took time to write.

“Please, pray for Rich and his wife ‘Lady Di’ and their ten children and their grandkids. And take a minute to drop a note to Rich through ASSIST. I know he will be wonderfully encouraged to hear that you are thinking OF him and praying FOR him.”

Please send your message to Rich and Dianne Buhler telling them that you are praying for them, to me (Dan Wooding) at assistnews@aol.com and I’ll forward them.

About Rich Buhler

Rich Buhler is a broadcaster, ordained minister, author, and speaker who has spent four decades in broadcasting and ministry.
 

Dan Wooding with Rich and Dianne Buhler on His Channel Live

He has been honored by his colleagues as “The Dean of Christian Talk Radio.” Along with Crawford Broadcasting, he pioneered “Talk From the Heart” on KBRT in 1981 which marked the beginning of a new era of Christian talk radio and a the time the show became the most listened-to local religious radio program in the nation and also at the time, KBRT became the most listened-to Christian radio station in America.

Rich’s radio career began as a radio announcer in Los Angeles when he was 17-years-old and included working for many years in Hollywood as a writer, editor and producer including with Westinghouse (KFWB) and CBS (KNX).

He is the author of several books including the best-sellers “Love, No Strings Attached” and “Pain and Pretending,” which have become popular among those who are dealing with the effects of emotional injury. He has also been involved in numerous film and television projects as host, performer, voice-over announcer, actor, or writer, has been a member of The Writer’s Guild and is a member of Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters in Hollywood.

Rich has become a voice for spiritual renewal, for protecting the unborn, and an advocate for those who have experienced what he calls “emotional injury” from physical, emotional, sexual abuse or neglect. He regards abuse as the most significant mental health issue of our time. He and his wife, Dianne, also minister to marriages, to those who’ve experienced divorce, single parents, and step families.

He is also a recognized researcher and writer about myths and urban legends. His articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines internationally and he is the creator of www.TruthOrFiction.com, a popular web site that researches Internet stories, hoaxes, and rumors. Rich has appeared on all of the major networks including CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, CBC, MSNBC, Fox News, BBC, MTV, and has been interviewed by numerous newspapers and magazines.

A graduate of Biola University and Omega Center, Rich has won numerous honors and awards including from Toastmaster's International, The Southern California Motion Picture Council, The Christian Action Council, and Religion in Media. He has been listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who In American Religion, and Who’s Who in the West. He holds two honorary doctorates, the Doctor of Laws degree granted from Biola University in 1991 and the Doctor of Humane Letters granted by Trinity College of Graduate studies in 2002.

His personal interests include aviation (he’s a licensed commercial pilot of more than 30 years), computers, photography, travel, fly-fishing, electronics, and cooking.

Rich lives in Orange County where he and his wife Dianne enjoy their combined family of ten children and 12 grandchildren.

Dan Wooding, 69, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 46 years. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC., and now hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on KWVE in Southern California and which is also carried on the Calvary Radio Network throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK. Wooding is also a regular contributor to The Weekend Stand on the Crawford Broadcasting Network, and a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 192 countries. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel “Red Dagger” which is available here