Mark Steel says his cancer has 'all gone'
The comedian and broadcaster had been diagnosed with throat cancer, but says his treatment has been successful.
Mark Steel has shared the happy news that his cancer has gone, thanking the medical staff who "saved my life" as well as his fans for their support.
The comedian and broadcaster revealed that he had been diagnosed with throat cancer in October after noticing that one side of his neck looked bigger than the other.
On Friday morning, Steel posted on X to say that he had received some good news this week - his cancer treatment has worked.
He wrote: "A nice man from UCL Hospital called this week, to say a scan of me showed the cancer I had has all gone. The treatment worked, the cancer bottled it and ran off, the wimp.
"One thing I’ve learned through all this is I don’t recommend chemotherapy or radiotherapy as recreational drugs. I can’t see them taking off in the clubs."
Steel continued: "UCLH is an amazing place packed with wonderful souls. They’ve saved my life but I reckon this mention on Twitter makes us even. Also, I discovered my son and daughter are magnificent and that I know lots of brilliant people who are beautifully kind and funny and rude.
"And… lots of you sent me messages which was SO appreciated and I’d marry you all if there wasn’t a law against it. Now I’ll shut up about it, after the ‘my cancer journey’ book and tour and musical. And from now on I’ll be careful not to catch cancer again."
His fans congratulated him on the good news as one person commented: "What a delightful set of messages for a Friday morn." Someone else added: "Well, this is bloody marvelous news. Now, hurry up and make some more radio shows." Another fan wrote: "Mark 1 Cancer Nil Congrats," as someone else told him: "What a wonderful thread to read this morning, so happy for you."
The comedian, best known for BBC Radio 4 show Mark Steel’s in Town and who also regularly appears on BBC One's Have I Got News For You, posted on his website in October about first having noticed a problem with his neck in June.
He wrote: "I Googled ‘Why is one side of my neck suddenly much larger than the other?’. Most of the answers suggested there’s nothing to worry about 'unless it hasn’t gone down after two weeks'. After two weeks I told myself it had sort of gone down, in that it was only a bit bigger."
Going on to explain how his original biopsy results had been "lost in transit", leading to a tense wait for news, he said that eventually getting his diagnosis had been "one of the happiest moments in my life" as he was told it was treatable.
"There were some details about surgery and glands and chemotherapy and radiotherapy and PET scans and taking six months off performing but I didn't hear any of that as it was the moment I was assured I would almost certainly live through this," he wrote.
"The doctor was sorry I would have to cancel some shows, but at that point I'd have been delighted if he'd said I would be alright although I would have to spend my life placing raisins into bars of Cadbury's Fruit and Nut."
Read more:
Comedian Mark Steel reveals cancer diagnosis: ‘It was one of the happiest moments of my life’ (The Independent, 4 min read)
Comedian Mark Steel confirms illness and describes moment of cancer diagnosis (Sky News, 2 min read)