Los Angeles (AFP) – The veteran U.S. television journalist Tom Brokaw said he has been diagnosed with cancer, but doctors are encouraged by his progress.

The NBC News special correspondent was told last August that he has multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting blood cells in the bone marrow, and has been receiving treatment since then, said the U.S. network on Tuesday.

The 74-year-old, who has worked at NBC News since 1966, said he remains “the luckiest guy I know,” according to a statement shared on NBC’s Twitter feed.

NBC reported in the statement that “doctors are optimistic about the outcome of the treatment he is receiving.”

Brokaw added that “with the exceptional support of my family, medical team and friends, I am very optimistic about the future and look forward to continuing my life, my work and adventures still to come.”

The journalist, a household name in the United States, has continued to work including on a two-hour documentary on the assassination of U.S. president John F. Kennedy and other news projects, as well as contributing to the network’s coverage of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

“I am very grateful for the interest in my condition but I also hope everyone understands I wish to keep this a private matter,” he said.

AFP Photo/Ben Gabbe