Sir Cliff Richard has revealed he has been treated for prostate cancer, saying the disease was caught early during a routine health check.
The 85-year-old singer explained that the cancer was discovered ahead of a planned tour of Australia and New Zealand, after organisers requested medical clearance for insurance purposes. He said the cancer has currently cleared and had not spread to other parts of his body.
In an interview on Good Morning Britain, Sir Cliff said “I was about to embark on a tour… I was going to Australia and New Zealand, and the promoter said ‘we need your insurance, so you’ll need to be checked up.’”
Doctors found what he described as “a prostate with cancer,” but he stressed the diagnosis came with positive news. “The good fortune was it was not very old… it hadn’t metastasised. It hadn’t moved into bones or anything like that.”
Sir Cliff said the cancer is “gone at the moment,” though he acknowledged there are no guarantees, adding “you can’t tell with those sort of things.”
He used the interview to strongly support calls for a national prostate cancer screening programme, urging men to be proactive about their health. “We need to absolutely, I’m convinced, get there, get tested, get checked,” he said.
Speaking to Dermot Murnaghan, who has been diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer, Sir Cliff backed the push for universal testing, noting the disease is the most common cancer among men. “We all deserve to have the same ability to have a test and then start the treatments really early.”
He added: “I think our government must listen to us,” stressing that men should not ignore the risks. “We’ve got to be seen as human beings who may die of this thing.”
The announcement comes shortly after King Charles revealed he had reached a milestone in his own cancer treatment, allowing him to reduce his treatment schedule in the coming year.
