Marr faces kidney cancer fight after telling viewers: ‘I’ll be back soon as I can’
BROADCASTER Andrew Marr has cancer and will go into hospital for surgery this week.
The veteran presenter told viewers of his shocking news live on air yesterday.
Marr, 58, will undergo an operation to remove a tumour on his kidney.
He will step down from hosting his weekly political and current affairs programme The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One while recuperating.
Marr told viewers at the end of yesterday’s programme: “I am going to be away for a couple of weeks or so.
“I’m having a small hospital operation and I will be back as soon as I possibly can, so be kind please to whoever is sitting in this chair next week.”
The cancer diagnosis was confirmed yesterday by his agent Mary Greenham who said the operation was to remove a malignant growth.
Ms Greenham said he is “expected to make a full recovery and will be returning to the airwaves soon. He and his family have asked for privacy at this difficult time”.
It is the latest health problem to beset the presenter who suffered a devastating stroke five years ago in January 2013.
Father-of-three Marr told how he “almost died twice” after suffering the major bleed on his brain but made an astonishing recovery.
Marr, the BBC’s former political editor, spent two months in hospital and underwent extensive physiotherapy to help him walk.
Every year, 12,500 Britons are diagnosed with kidney cancer – about 34 cases every day.
Kidney Cancer UK said there were 4,400 deaths each year from the condition.
The most common form of kidney cancer is renal cell carcinoma and risk factors include an unhealthy diet, smoking and high blood pressure.
Surgery to remove all or part of the affected kidney is usually the first thing doctors consider and it can be cured if the cancer is at an early stage.
A BBC spokeswoman said yesterday: “Andrew is taking a period of time off for medical reasons. We wish him well and look forward to welcoming him back on our screens soon.”
Broadcaster Piers Morgan wrote on social media: “This is very sad news. Few better or more courageous broadcasters in Britain than Andrew Marr.
“I wish him a successful op & speedy recovery.”