Stephen Fry opens up about prostate cancer diagnosis and praises King Charles in campaign video

Legendary actor and comedian Stephen Fry has opened up about being diagnosed with cancer and praised King Charles for his honesty in revealing his own cancer diagnosis earlier this year. In a video recorded for the #CatchUpWithCancer campaign, Fry spoke out about being told he had prostate cancer.

In the recording, Fry said: “In 2018 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. You never know how you’re going to react when you get that kind of news, and very sadly, it’s something one in two of us are going to go through. The King’s recent news shows this so clearly and I think he has done a real service to the country in being open and honest about such a personal experience. It’s got us all talking and thinking about cancer and wondering what we can do.”

The purpose of the video is to urge people to sign a petition asking the Health Secretary to boost cancer services, at all stages of the cancer pathway, to stop tens of thousands of cancer patients dying unnecessarily. He continued: “Cancer is a verb – it moves and acts quickly – and so must we if we want to save our loved ones. Since 2020, 225,000 people have waited too long for cancer treatment, and these waits can be deadly.”

The initial goal was to reach half a million signatures which, following the success of Fry’s call to arms, they have now reached. Following the video’s release on February 20, he helped garner more than 100,000 signatures in a single day. They are now hoping to reach 1 million signatures.

In January, the #CatchUpWithCancer campaign group took part in a demonstration outside Parliament to highlight how tens of thousands of people hve missed out on the 62-day cancer treatment target.

Oncologist Professor Pat Price, co-founder of the campaign group, said: “Let this be the end of accepting the unacceptable when it comes to cancer. We’re calling on all (political) parties to acknowledge the cancer crisis and commit to delivering a plan to tackle it.”

Responding to the claims, an NHS England spokesperson said: “The NHS has treated over 1.2 million people for cancer since 2020, and in the last year alone almost three million people received potentially lifesaving cancer checks and over 336,000 people started treatment – with over 90% of patients starting treatment within a month, despite record demand.

“NHS staff continue to work hard to prioritise the longest waiters and most urgent cases, and recent efforts mean more people are being diagnosed at an early stage than ever before and survival rates are higher than ever. It is vital people continue to come forward if they are concerned about symptoms – getting checked saves lives.”