Former Double Dare host Marc Summers, 63, reveals secret battle with Leukemia

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Summers made the announcement on Monday during an interview with Philadelphia radio station WWMR
He said he was scared making his condition public would affect his career
Underwent two years of chemo and was given the all-clear in December
Currently hosting Unwrapped on The Food Network

Published: 09:47 EST, 10 February 2015 | Updated: 10:34 EST, 10 February 2015

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Famed TV host Marc Summers, who helmed the original series of Nickelodeon's Double Dare in the 80s and 90s, has revealed he has been quietly battling cancer for the last five years.

The 63-year-old made the admission Monday morning during a radio interview in Philadelphia with WWMR's Preston and Steve.

The father-of-two spoke on the show on how he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2010 and subsequently underwent two years of chemotherapy.

He described his ordeal as 'hell', according to philly.com.

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Big reveal: Marc Summers appeared on radio show WWMR's Preston and Steve on Monday morning and spoke about how he has been battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia for the last five years

Quiet battle: Veteran TV host Marc Summers, 63, has been battling leukemia for the last five years

Summers said he was reluctant to discuss his condition before now because he was worried it might affect his career.

He said he and his agents decided to keep it quiet.

'I've sort of compressed this thing and it's made me nuts,' he said.

'I thought it was time to come out.

'I'm not covering up anymore - I've had it, I'm in remission and ... I'm ready to move on.'

Doctors gave Summers the all-clear in December.

Summers said he considered revealing his story to Oprah Winfrey at the end of last year while appearing on a 'Where Are They Now?' segment.

However he said Monday he didn't feel he had as much as of an emotional connection to Winfrey than he did with the crew of WWMR's Preston and Steve.

Instead, Summers told Winfrey how his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - which has spoken about often over the years - affected his career.

Happier Times: Summers is seen here with producer Henry Winkler at an event in LA in 2003

Veteran: Summers, seen here on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 1994, has been in the industry 30 years

'I was signed up to do the 'Hollywood Squares' version that Tom Bergeron actually did,' he said.

'The next thing I knew, I was fired before we even got started, supposedly because my reputation was that I was difficult to work with because of the OCD.'

In January, WWMR's Steve Morrison revealed he had prostate cancer.

Morrison had the prostate removed before the holidays in 2014 and is expected to make a full recovery.

Summers is currently hosting Unwrapped, the longest running show on Food Network.

He has held the job for 11 years.

He has also hosted Next Food Network Star and Ultimate Recipe Showdown.

Summers' career took off in 1986, when Nickelodeon hired him as the host of Double Dare.

He went on to host Couch Potatoes in 1989 and Nickelodeon's What Would You Do? in 1991.

Best known for hosting Nickelodeon's Double Dare in the 80s and 90s, Summers revealed in an interview on Monday that he has been quietly battling cancer for the last five years

During his radio interview Monday, Preston and Steve thought Summers - who is married with two children - was coming out as homosexual, after he said he had some big news to share.