I’ve survived lethal pancreatic cancer, says Python star Idle
ERIC Idle has revealed that he survived lethal pancreatic cancer after receiving a rare early diagnosis.
The 79-year-old Monty Python star said he was ‘incredibly lucky’ that a small tumour in the centre of his pancreas had been found ‘incredibly early’ during a routine check in 2019.
Idle credits his long-time doctor and friend David Kipper for saving his life after he pushed for an extra test.
‘It’s odd to think that had he not called for that extra test I might have been walking around without knowing this time bomb was ticking away inside me,’ he told Time magazine.
‘A few days later he confirmed the results. It was pancreatic cancer. It was not attached to anything and my lymph nodes were clear.’
Idle had an operation at CedarsSinai hospital in Los Angeles to remove the tumour. Afterwards Dr Kipper told him: ‘The cancer hasn’t recurred. You should have about ten years.’ The comedian added: ‘He has
cut it all out. The cancer is gone. I had been a dead man walking. I am going to live.’ He added that he and his wife Tania had named the tumour Kenny as it sounded ‘far less threatening’. Only around 25 per cent of patients in England with pancreatic cancer survive for one year or more after diagnosis, and only 5 per cent survive for ten years or more, according to the charity Cancer Research UK.
Idle, who was eliminated from the US version of The Masked Singer on Wednesday night, has now set up a charity, the Bright Side Fund, to help early testing and research. The name comes from Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, the song he wrote for Monty Python’s 1979 film Life of Brian.