But medics tell comedian it is treatable

Mark Steel has revealed that he has throat cancer that has spread to his lymph nodes.

The comic has been told the disease is treatable – although he will not be able to perform for a few months.

He revealed the news in The Guardian today, writing: ‘I’m writing this a few days from an operation that I hope will confirm the location of the cancer, from which a programme of treatment can begin.

‘The current estimate is that I should be able to start performing again in about six months.’

‘So, that’s my current state of affairs. I have cancer, but it’s a cancer that can be got rid of. I feel like there’s a leopard in my house, locked in a room. I’ve contacted the leopard authorities and they assure me they are used to dealing with leopards like this, and they have a plan for removing the leopard. It will take a while, though, and once in a while I can hear it growl.

‘And that’s all very reassuring. Even so, several times a day I think to myself: "Hang on, there’s a leopard in my house."

The 63-year-old comedian describes the build-up to his diagnosis as a  catalogue of missed appointments, language misunderstandings and lost scans – and eventually learning he had cancer via an offhand cancer.

But he said: ‘Most of the staff are paid appallingly and treated with contempt. Their minister quit and went on I’m A Celebrity, so don’t take out your frustrations on them. Even so, it’s reasonable to ask politely how they could have lost the biopsy and forgotten to tell me I had fucking cancer.’

Steel said that when his cancer was confirmed: ‘My head ran into a series of extreme areas. Two of my closest friends, Linda Smith and Jeremy Hardy, died of cancer. I was with each of them in their final days, and often wonder about the sheer randomness of how long we’re allotted.

‘If I conked out now, would that be unlucky? I would still be luckier by several years than either of them, and it would be hard to argue my extra time was down to skill.’

Published: 9 Oct 2023