COLBERT LUCKY TO BE ALIVE!

LATE-NIGHT star Stephen Colbert made funny cracks about being forced to cancel a week of his CBS talk show, but sources say the host narrowly cheated death after he was rushed to a hospital when his appendix exploded!

On a Nov. 27 social media post, the 59-year-old talking head explained that night’s show and three others were canceled because he was recovering from emergency surgery for a burst appendix.

“I’m grateful to my doctors for their care and to [wife] Evie and the kids for putting up with me,” he writes. “Going forward, all emails to my appendix will be handled by my pancreas.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, a burst or ruptured appendix is a potentially life-threatening condition that spreads infection throughout the abdomen. Immediate surgery is required to remove the organ.