Los Angeles, Sep 14 (IANS): American TV and radio host Larry King has revealed that he was diagnosed with stage one lung cancer and had a successful surgery earlier this year.

"The reason I go public with it is to tell people, ‘Get a chest X-ray.' If I had not had the chest X-ray, it would have progressed," King said on TV show "Extra" on Wednesday, reports pagesix.com.

The results of King's surgery, which took place in July, proved that the "spot" found in his X-ray was malignant.

"On July 17, I had the surgery here at Cedars. They took it out. It was malignant. They were going to take it out if it was malignant or benign. They tested it. They said, ‘You are fine.' It was stage one," he said.

For King, who gets an annual X-ray because of his previous heart attack and heart surgery, the diagnosis and surgery is another reminder to keep healthy. He said he will now be getting a chest X-ray every six months.

"I feel good, I get my checkups, I stay healthy and I love working," he said.