Craig Melvin speaks out following his brother’s death from colon cancer
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Craig Melvin is grateful for the support he and his family have received in the wake of his older brother’s death from colon cancer last week.
Appearing on the “Today” show Wednesday, Melvin, 41, said he’s “doing better” and his “family is relieved” knowing his brother, Lawrence Meadows, is no longer suffering.
“I’m doing better,” Melvin said. “Our family’s relieved, as you guys know, you’ve been along from the beginning of the journey.
“He was suffering at the end, and you have someone that you love and that you cherish, you don’t want them to suffer anymore. So his suffering his over, and our family, we’re in a pretty good spot,” he continued.
On Saturday, Melvin confirmed Lawrence’s passing, revealing he had died last Wednesday. at the age of 43.
“We lost our older brother this week. Lawrence Meadows was a husband (to Angela, his childhood sweetheart), father (to Addie, 11 and Lawson, 7) Baptist minister, entrepreneur, and one of the best human beings you would’ve ever known,” Melvin posted to Instagram.
“Colon cancer robbed him and us of so much,” Melvin continued, noting Lawrence had been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at the age of 39.
In October 2016, doctors removed a baseball-sized tumor from Lawrence’s abdomen and found the cancer had spread, Melvin noted in 2017, when he discussed his brother’s health battle on “Today.”
“You never want to hear of anyone getting a cancer diagnosis… it nearly knocked me off my feet,” Melvin said at the time.
On Wednesday, Melvin thanked both his “Today” show family and fans alike for sharing supportive messages during this devastating time.
“I wanted to thank the friends, the strangers, who sent cards and texts and prayers, especially, and you guys, our little TV family, you guys really held us up over the last few weeks, and it was the kindness and generosity that we will never forget,” Melvin said.
Colorectal cancer, or colon and rectal cancer, is “the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States,” not including skin cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. It is also “the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and in women, and the second most common cause of cancer deaths when men and women are combined.”
Melvin said Saturday that Lawrence had “spent a fair amount of time over the past few years raising awareness about the disease.”
“We’ll be keeping up that fight. We love you, bro,” he said.
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