Since he quit hosting QI and moved with his husband to LA, we haven’t seen quite as much of British national treasure Stephen Fry as we have before. He also recently stepped down from hosting the BAFTA Film Awards for the first time in several years, being replaces by Joanna Lumley. It turns out one of the reasons he’s been quieter in the last couple of months is because he’s been dealing with protate cancer, which he has desribed as an “aggressive little bugger”.
In a video and on Twitter where he describes the “rather unwelcome and unexpected adventure” he’s been on, he’s keen to add that he has now had his prostate removed and it doesn’t seem to have spread. He also thankfully adds, “For the moment I’m fit and well and happy and I just wanted to let you know because rumours had started to swirl.”
Fry says that the cancer was discovered when he went for a routine flu jab before Christmas. It was indeed a particularly harsh form of the disease, given a score of 9 out of 10 on the Gleason Scale, which ranks the agressiveness of prostate cancers. He has since had his prostate and 11 lymph nodes removed, and “As far as we know it’s all been got.”
He adds, “Here’s hoping I’ve got another few years left on this planet because I enjoy life at the moment and that’s a marvellous thing to be able to say, and I’d rather it didn’t go away.”
Fry also pays tribute to his “darling, darling husband”, Elliott Spencer, who has been “just marvellous”. You can see Stephen’s video about his cancer below.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with over 40,000 new cases diagnosed every year. You can find out more about the disease and its symptoms on the NHS website.
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