Sir Cliff Richard reveals prostate cancer diagnosis as singer, 85, urges men to 'get tested, get checked'
Sir Cliff Richard has revealed that he has been treated for prostate cancer over the past year after receiving a diagnosis.
The legendary singer, 85, made the revelation while speaking to Good Morning Britain on Monday morning (December 15). He confirmed that the cancer had “gone at the moment” following his treatment.
Sir Cliff urged other men to “get checked”, telling journalist Dermot Monaghan during the interview: “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.”
He revealed that the diagnosis came after he underwent a health check-up for his insurance ahead of a concert tour in Australia and New Zealand.
Sir Cliff added: “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.”
His admission as he urged the government to implement a national screening programme to help catch the caner early in men. Last month, the UK National Screening Committee announced a draft recommendation for a targeted prostate cancer screening programme that would focus on those with family history of the disease.
If implemented, men between the ages of 45 and 61 with a genetic mutation of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes would be invited to be screened every two years for the cancer. Some campaigners said they were disappointed that the screening recommendation only included a targeted portion of the population.
Sir Cliff said: “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’.
While early prostate cancer is often symptomless, some people may experience some symptoms as the illness progresses. According to the NHS, these symptoms include:
- finding it difficult to start peeing or straining to pee
- having a weak flow of urine
- "stop start" peeing
- needing to pee urgently or often, or both
- feeling like you still need to pee when you've just finished
- peeing during the night
- erectile dysfunction
- blood in your urine or blood in your semen
- lower back pain and losing weight without trying to
“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.”
After The King announced last week that his cancer treatment would be reduced in the new year, Sir Cliff said that he was keen to join forces with the monarch to raise awareness of the disease.
He said: “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’.”
- If you have been affected by any of the topics raised in this article, you can contact charity Prostate Cancer UK for support. You can contact the charity on 0800 074 8383 or by visiting the Prostate Cancer UK website.