Blackadder legend Tony Robinson has opened up about living with prostate cancer for over a decade and the reality of facing the ‘harsh’ disease and stigma around it
Tony Robinson has shared the “harsh” reality of prostate cancer. The legendary actor, best known for playing Baldrick in the BBC sitcom Blackadder, was diagnosed with the condition over a decade ago and undergoes regular tests to monitor the condition, including MRI scans.
But while he says he is “fine,” Tony, 79, admits that there is still a stigma around men being tested for the condition. Currently, the condition is diagnosed following a PSA blood test and a digital rectal examination, with a biopsy also being taken if required.
“I’ve been living with prostate cancer for 13 or 14 years now, and it’s always been fine, but I do have these checks,” Tony said. He went on to add: “The problem has always been that blokes think that if they are threatened with prostate cancer, they are going to have the doctor’s finger up their bum.
“And that kind of used to be true but it’s not a very good check because the prostate is just a like a little apricot. I only knew about a year ago that doctors don’t use that check anymore.”
Speaking on A Night In With Sally Lindsay, the actor went on to add: “And I thought…well I’ve always been campaigning for more awareness, if I don’t know that, and so many men are so disturbed by that idea, then I wanna get out there, so I phoned the prostate society and asked to be put on local radio for the day spreading the word. Most people will have like an MRI every couple of years.”
Speaking about his checks, he likened them to the medical checks actors undergo when signing for a new job. “Like we do in our industry, I had to have a health check before I did a show,” he said, adding: “Those checks are brilliant, though. They box tick everything. It’s such a vile disease. If it really gets going, the idea of being ‘Oh I don’t want anyone messing there,’ it’s foolish – it’s not being grown up and foolish, it’s madness.”
The NHS states that prostate cancer often affects men over the age of 50. The cancer starts growing on the outer part of the prostate, meaning it doesn’t press on the tube which carries urine from the bladder to the peins – until the cancer has grown or metastasised.
Symptoms include finding it difficult to wee, having a weak flow of urine, stop-start weeing, needing to wee urgently, feeling like you still need to wee when you’ve just finished, as well as weeing during the night.
Other symptoms include erectile dysfunction, blood in urine or semen and lower back pain, as well as losing weight without trying. While prostate cancer doesn’t always require treatment if it hasn’t grown or spread, treatment can include surgery, radiotherapy, a hormone spray and possibly chemotherapy.
Speaking previously about his time on Blackadder, Tony told The Independent: “Incredible. What a blessing is that? I might worry a bit about being short, but landing that part in the cult comedy series of the century, to be surrounded by those wonderful artists, as I was for 10 years…
“Richard Curtis was the biggest influence on my writing – not deliberately, but because he was there, because he was around, because, by nature, he’s a supportive person. I’m the luckiest bunny there is.”
If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Macmillan Cancer Support and Prostate Cancer UK.
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