Rhod Gilbert has explained why he views his experience with cancer as a “positive thing”. The 55-year-old Welsh comedian first announced that he was diagnosed with stage four head and neck cancer in July 2022 and underwent a year of successful treatment. But although he says the odds of the illness coming back are like “Russian roulette”, he would like to a ppreciate the lessons he has gained from the ordeal.
Currently touring for his stand-up comedy show, Rhod Gilbert and the Giant Grapefruit , the TV personality chronicles his experience of finding the cancerous lump and the journey that came after – it has also been the subject of Channel 4 documentary, A Pain in the Neck . At first he says he considered finishing his shows by saying he was glad he had cancer, he told The Times in a new interview. “But in the end I thought I’d say, ‘I’m not sorry that I got cancer.
’” he said. “I feel guilty saying this because of what my wife has been through — we just lost her dad to cancer as well, so it’s been a living hell for her. But for me it is a positive thing.
That doesn’t mean I want it back. But I am just gorging on life.” The Would I Lie to You panellist lost two and a half stone in the year he suffered from the disease, and although he has recovered, he is still required to have regular medical check-ups every eight weeks.
“I have hated the sound of the alarm clock my entire life. Now I go, ‘Hooray, here comes another day.’” he said.
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