Fixture in Orlando radio, Scott McKenzie dies after 7-year battle with cancer

Scott McKenzie spent 24 years on Orlando's airwaves, helping loyal listeners of Mix 105.1 get their day started off with a smile.  He died on Tuesday at the age of 59, following a seven-year battle with cancer.

We were with him last year when he returned to the air, after taking time off for two rounds of chemotherapy.

"You know I never really asked my doctor if he thought it was a good idea if I come back today," he told us, with a laugh.

It was McKenzie's third time battling Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

"The cancer had gone from nothing -- I was in complete remission in February and just had a check-up -- to being inundated with cancer all through my abdomen," he explained.

And this last fight was tougher then the rest.

"I've had cancer in the past, and I've been able to work through it.  This time the chemo required hospital stays," he said.

McKenzie spent much of the last several weeks in a hospital in Philadelphia.  On his blog, McKenzie says he returned to Orlando last week and began making arrangements for hospice care, and started saying his goodbyes.

On his last post, dated August 7, McKenzie thanked his family, friends, co-workers, and listeners.

He wrote, "Your constant love and support has gotten us through so much during this cancer battle. Knowing you've been by our side has been sincerely appreciated by my family on a daily basis. Most of all, thank you for the privilege of waking you up all these years. I am so grateful to call you my Orlando family."

"I can't come up with enough different words to describe how awesome everybody's been, but they have been."

McKenzie is survived by his wife, Dr. Fran Lesser Friedman, and their daughter, Lauren Nicole Friedman.