Sir Cliff Richard has announced on Good Morning Britain that he has received treatment for prostate cancer for the past year.
The singer, 85, revealed in an interview with Dermot Murnaghan that for the past year he has been treated for prostate cancer.
He revealed that he was speaking out now in order to back national screening tests for men and to raise awareness of the importance of early diagnosis.
Opening up about his cancer diagnosis, Sir Cliff said: ‘I was about to embark on a tour which in fact ended this time at the Royal Albert Hall.
‘But I was going to Australia and to New Zealand, and the promoter said, “Well, we need for your insurance, you need to be checked up for something.”
‘They found that I had prostate cancer. But the good fortune was that it was not very old, and the other thing is that it has not metastasised. Nothing had moved into bones or anything like that.’
He revealed that he was currently cancer-free, but was unsure if it would return.
‘The cancer’s gone at the moment. I don’t know whether it’s going to come back.
‘We can’t tell those sort of things, but we need to, absolutely, I’m convinced, get there, get tested, get checked.’
Discussing how important it is for men to get tested early, Sir Cliff added: ‘I think we as men have got to start saying it, we’ve got to be seen as human beings who may die of this thing.’
Prostate Cancer
The NHS website explains that prostate cancer ‘affects the prostate gland under the bladder and usually happens to men over 50 years old.’
Prostate cancer usually starts to grow on the outer part of the prostate. This means it does not press on the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the penis (urethra) and cause symptoms, until the cancer has grown or spread.
Symptoms include: struggling to urinate, blood in the urine or semen, erectile dysfunction, lower back pain, or losing weight rapidly.
Dermot, who is currently being treated for stage 4 prostate cancer, raised the point that prostate cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers amongst men, but there is no national screening programme.
Speaking about the recent decision not to approve a national screening programme, Sir Cliff said: ‘I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.
‘We have governments to look after our country and those who live in that country, so I can’t see how you can say, “Oh we can do this, we can do that, but we don’t do this for these people.”
Macmillan cancer support
If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with cancer, Macmillan can offer support and information.
You can contact their helpline on 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week from 8am to 8pm), use their webchat service, or visit their site for more information.
‘We all deserve to have the same ability to have a test and then start treatments really early. It seems to me – I’ve only been for one year now in touch with cancer, but every time I’ve talked with anybody this has come up and so I think our government must listen to us.’
Sir Cliff added that he would like to join forces with the King, who has recently been open about his cancer diagnosis, in order to raise awareness.
‘I’ve been involved with many charities over the years, and if the King is happy to front it for us, I’m sure loads of people, I certainly would join him. If the King is listening, I think most of us would say yeah – we’re available!’
Good Morning Britain is on weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and ITVX.
