Powell to journalist Bob Woodward on his health struggles: ‘Don’t feel sorry for me’

“Don’t say no and don’t feel sorry for me, for god’s sakes. I’m (almost) 85 years old,” Powell said after telling Woodward about battling multiple myeloma for nearly two years. “I haven’t lost a day of life fighting these two diseases. I’m in good shape.”

Powell, the first Black US secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, died Monday from complications from Covid-19 at the age of 84. Multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells, suppresses the body’s immune response. He also had Parkinson’s.

CNN obtained audio of Woodward’s July 12 phone interview with Powell for Woodward’s latest book on former President Donald Trump, “Peril.”

This is a breaking story and will be updated.