Steve Rider, a BBC sports broadcaster, surprised fans when he disclosed he was battling prostate cancer.
On Wednesday, the 73-year-old iconic broadcaster disclosed his tragic news live on television, explaining that he was first diagnosed two months ago.
In addition to detailing his sickness, the actor informed BBC Breakfast presenters that he will be undergoing emergency surgery this weekend.
He said during the show: ‘”I’m a great convert to the work of Prostate Cancer UK because on Saturday I need quite an urgent operation.
‘The whole process from getting myself checked, to diagnosis, to operation has taken about two months. I consider myself to be extremely lucky.’
Steve said that it was colleague broadcaster Nick Owen’s diagnosis that spurred him to seek medical attention, only to discover that he, too, was suffering from the condition.
The Sportsnight host continued: ‘My reading was a little bit high, but being a bloke, you can live with that. No symptoms or anything like that.
‘My wife is, thankfully, far more sensible and far more tuned in to these things. We went off and into the examination procedure and into the X-rays and so on.
‘By that time I was pretty tuned in to the whole system. I went in and they said I need to be operated on as soon as possible and to clear the diary for the next three weeks.’
Steve added: ‘It’s all contained within the prostate, so it gives us the opportunity to have significant surgery and cure the whole thing that way.
‘If it becomes more advanced, the future is a little bit more bleak for people.
‘We have caught it in time that surgery will knock it on the head. I’ve been so lucky.’
The ITV football, rugby, and F1 commentator also disclosed that he got his findings just one day after taking part in Jeff Stelling’s latest charity Football March in remembrance of the late BBC broadcaster Bill Turnbull, who died of prostate cancer last year.
He praised Turnbull for his advocacy and told the PA: ‘The great thing about Bill was that he wanted to turn his misfortune into an information campaign which would save hundreds of others and I’m sure that probably hundreds and thousands of men have stepped back from a really serious cancer because of the attention that Bill Turnbull brought to early diagnosis and testing.
‘And apart from that, he was a lovely, lovely guy.’
What is the prostate?
Only men have a prostate gland and it is usually the size and bears similar shape to a walnut. It does grow as you get older. The prostate sits under the bladder and surrounds the uretha – which is the tube that men urinate and ejaculate through.
The prostates job is to make semen which is the fluid that contains sperm.
Prostate cancers can develop when cells start to grow abnormally. Some men develop prostate cancer that is more likely to spread.
For more information about prostate cancer visit https://prostatecanceruk.org.
