Jimmy Tarbuck reveals prostate cancer diagnosis
The veteran comedian discovered he had the disease earlier this month, and has urged other men to get themselves tested.
Jimmy Tarbuck has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The veteran comedian, 80, said during an appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain that he is going to “try and beat it”.
He said men can be too “shy” to get tested as he urged viewers: “All men out there watching, and all wives, get your husbands to go for the tests. I think after 50, just have a test, let them have a look at you.
“You will be relieved and be with your families for extra years.”
He added: “I feel great. I’m on the telly and I’m having a good time.
“What do I do? Do I say ‘No. I haven’t got it’? Own up.”
Tarbuck said Sir Tom Jones has been his “mentor”, and had advised him to see a doctor when he told him about his symptoms.
“(Sir Tom) told me what was going to happen, all the tests,” Tarbuck said.
“He said I’ve had this done and he told me ‘You’ll get bloods shown’.”
He added: “Boys, go. It is embarrassing. The fella said to me ‘We’re going to give you the thumbs up’. I said ‘I hope not’. He roared laughing.”
Tarbuck, who said the cancer has not spread, added: “I’m having injections and taking tablets and then I take a yearly cycle.”
The entertainer revealed earlier this month that he was going to be tested for the disease the day after his 80th birthday with a biopsy.
He told the Mirror: “The thought of having prostate cancer is scary but I am determined to face it head on – and that’s because of learning that Rod Stewart has gone through it too.”
Tarbuck, who rose to fame in the 1960s and was known for hosting variety shows including Sunday Night At The London Palladium and Live From Her Majesty’s, also talked about going on tour again at the age of 80.
He told the programme: “I love the work, I hate the travelling, but I’m doing two cities that I love – Norwich and Wolverhampton.
“The people are very nice, they come out to see me there, so I enjoy that.”
The NHS’s national clinical director for cancer, Professor Peter Johnson, said: “It is so helpful that celebrities like Rod Stewart and Jimmy Tarbuck have been brave enough to speak out about their diagnosis – there is no doubt that they are helping us in the NHS to fight against prostate cancer.
“It is vital that men come forward for checks when they sense something isn’t right, and the NHS Long Term Plan is prioritising action to detect and treat more cancers earlier when the chance of survival is best.”
