In the late 1980s, Taft was diagnosed with stomach cancer. During his chemotherapy treatments, which left him frail and bald, he presented a series of reports on his health problems. In spite of the hardships, Taft continued to forecast the weather. Even during his last year of life, he continued to present weather reports on the 5pm and 6pm newscasts. One of his colleagues noted that he was so ill that he had to lie down and rest between the two newscasts. His last weather broadcast was August 30, 1991, 41 years and 10 months after his first broadcast, and he died a month later.