Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon says guitarist Andy Taylor "fighting as hard as he can" in cancer battle

Duran Duran frontman, Simon Le Bon, has given a health update on his bandmate currently battling stage four cancer. Guitarist Andy Taylor is said to be "fighting as hard as he can" after undergoing “pioneering treatment”.

Taylor was diagnosed with incurable stage-four metastatic prostate cancer in 2018 but only revealed his condition in 2022. After going public, he was approached by a scientist who offered him an innovative drug which he says has now extended his life "for five years".

The 'Ordinary World' hitmaker received intravenous administration of radioactive chemicals as pioneered by Welsh scientist and biotech entrepreneur Christopher Evans. Speaking on BBC breakfast in 2023, the 63-year-old said he was given "a nuclear medicine, Lutetium-177, external, which is targeted so it only sees cancer cells", adding: "It can't see healthy cells. It kills stage four cancer in your bones. And so what it's effectively done is extend my life for five years."

Andy previously admitted he wasn't "even supposed to be alive" but was relieved to be "asymptomatic" after undergoing the pioneering treatment. He told The Times newspaper in August 2023: "There was nothing to keep you alive. I was classified as palliative, end-of-life care. And now I’m not; I’m asymptomatic. Getting played on the radio - that’s the first time that’s happened to me for 30 years. Hold on - I’m not even supposed to be alive."

Now, it has been revealed his bandmates are doing the best to support him in his fight against the disease. Speaking at a press conference for Duran Duran's performance at the Sanremo Music Festival in Italy on Thursday (February 13), Le Bon said: "I am sure he would love to be here. As you probably know, he’s got prostate cancer. It’s very late stage, fourth-stage metastasised cancer. He’s fighting as hard as he can, and we are with him in that fight."

Elsewhere during the press conference, the 'Rio' hitmaker explained he believes the group have stayed together for so many decades because they get along so well together and don't have any rows about money and royalties. He said: "There is something between us that keeps us together.

“First of all, we love the music we make together. Nobody else makes music like we do. We’ve all tried to do things on our own, and it just doesn’t seem as exciting as when the four of us get together and work. We make each other laugh, and I think that’s very important in a long relationship. When we are under stress, we laugh all the way through it, and it keeps everything light and fun.

"And the other thing is, we split all the proceeds equally. No one takes all the publishing. We all share the finances equally."

Taylor - who has four children with wife Tracey Wilson - previously said the "lowest point" of the whole ordeal was preparing himself to say goodbye to his family, describing the experience as being "mind-blowing" in a psychological sense.

He said: "The lowest point is maybe six weeks after the diagnosis when it really sinks in. You’re gonna have to say goodbye to your family. You’re not going to see your grandson’s 10th birthday. Psychologically it’s mind-blowing - you can’t have therapy to remove the certainty of death."