In a turquoise linen shirt with a silver chain, beige pants, and barefoot, Thomas Gottschalk (76) sits on a golden chair with a floral back and speaks into the camera. As announced the day before via Instagram, the host gives a "small personal update" on Sunday morning after his illness-related withdrawal of several months:
"After two surgeries, 33 radiation treatments, and three weeks of rehab, I am currently in remission. That is the most important news first", he summarizes the medical key facts. But because the remission "can of course change at any time", he is "full of hope participating in a trial at the University of Greifswald, where I'm being vaccinated against this damn sarcoma that I had, at regular intervals", says Gottschalk. Eight of the twelve vaccinations are already behind him, as he reveals.
Eventful weeks lie behind him
But it's not just medical details that the 195,000 followers learn on his only social media channel. "What else has been going on, I'll show you in the video", he announces and beams. The photos shown include him "gardening in his own garden". Distraction and positive vibes also came from two small trips he took with his wife Karina. In Paris, the two watched "Die Kameliendame" as a ballet at the opera. He spent his birthday on May 18 "at Lake Maggiore and Lake Lucerne together with my family", Gottschalk narrates to the images showing him in nature.
During the subsequent three-week rehab at the Osterseen lakes south of Lake Starnberg, he did pottery among other things. He expressly thanks the professor and the therapists: They "got me back on my feet during that time". "I came as a broken person and left as a healthy person", he says even more explicitly.
He also warmly thanks his wife: "I honestly wonder where she gets all that energy from, and keeps me in good spirits on top of that, which isn't easy either. I'm not always in the good mood you know me for", he admits with a smile.
Thomas Gottschalk wants to continue taking it easy
In the caption accompanying the clip, he also gives a brief outlook: "In the coming months, I will continue to recover and take it a bit easier", he writes. "But of course I'll be back here with you", he promises.
Made his illness public last year
Thomas Gottschalk made his illness public in late November 2025. A few days after this announcement, the entertainer said goodbye to television on December 6 with a final episode of "Denn sie wissen nicht, was passiert" (RTL). On Instagram, he had subsequently announced that he wanted to focus exclusively on his recovery for the following six months.
