Broadcast meteorologist Kent Boughton has announced on his Facebook page that he has stage 4 cancer. The Chief Forecaster for News Channel Nebraska said he’s been diagnosed with small cell carcinoma that has spread throughout his body.

In his Facebook video, Boughton said he visited a doctor after losing his voice.  Instead of being an ailment of the throat, Boughton learned he had a tumor in his lung growing against his left tonsil, paralyzing it. With the left tonsil paralyzed, his voice was compromised.

“If that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have known I had cancer,” Boughton said. “I spent my entire career telling you about storms, trying to save your lives, for crying out loud. Now I’m facing my own storm, my own inside tornado, if you will.”

Boughton also said, “There is no barcode anywhere on my body that gives me an expiration date. That’s pretty much true for all of us. We could all get run over by a car tomorrow. I’m going to fight to the end.”

Boughton will be starting his second round of chemotherapy in the coming days. He asked viewers for prayers.

Despite his illness, Boughton said he plans to continue to forecast for News Channel Nebraska even if his voice is impacted by his illness.

Boughton has worked as a meteorologist for more than 50 years. He began his career as a radio announcer at KRGI in Grand Island. In 1977 he started his weather career at KIFI-TV in Idaho Falls. Starting in 1979, he worked for 12 years at KHAS-TV in Hastings which is  now KSNB Local4. After a break from TV, he went to work at NTV in Kearney starting in 1999 and continuing for more than two decades.