Fry warns men over prostate cancer

STEPHEN Fry has urged “men of a certain age” to get themselves checked for prostate cancer as he revealed he recently underwent surgery for the disease.

The TV presenter, who is 60, had his prostate removed in January after being diagnosed in December and he said that “it all seemed to go pretty well”.

Fry shared the news in a video posted on his Twitter page, alongside which he wrote: “For the last two months I’ve been in the throes of a rather unwelcome and unexpected adventure.

“I’m sorry I haven’t felt able to talk about it till now, but here I am explaining what has been going on.”

He said it was “all very personal and undignified so I might as well bite the bullet”, before explaining that he had seen his doctor in December in order to get a flu jab, but that it was discovered that he had cancer.

He said: “They took the prostate out, they took 11 lymph nodes out, the various bits that were taken out were examined and it turned out I had a Gleason Score of nine; after considering 10 is the maximum, it was clearly an aggressive little b ***** .”

Fry, who pulled out of presenting the Bafta Film Awards this year after more than a decade, said he wanted to keep out of Surgery: TV presenter Stephen Fry revealed he had his prostate removed the public eye “because you want to get better without strangers sending you cards and letters”.

The former QI host said that “as far as we know it’s all been got”.

“I generally felt my life was saved by this early intervention, so I would urge any of you men of a certain age to get your PSA levels checked,” he added.

Prostate Cancer UK thanked Fry for speaking out.

Angela Culhane, chief executive at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. Some face a higher than average risk so if you are over 50, black, or have a family history of prostate cancer, it’s important you speak to your GP.”