TV’S Jeremy Kyle has spoken for the first time of his testicular cancer battle
— and admitted he feared he would die.
Jeremy, 47 — given the all-clear after an op — said that when it was
diagnosed, he thought: “That’s it, I’m dead.”
Jeremy revealed yesterday how reading The Sun helped him beat the deadly
cancer.
The daytime telly host discovered a lump — but had put off seeing a doctor as
he thought he was being “paranoid”.
However an article in Britain’s favourite newspaper persuaded him to seek help
and, within hours, he had been diagnosed with the disease.
We revealed last week how Jeremy learned the terrifying news just before
Christmas but got the all-clear after an op and chemotherapy.
And yesterday he spoke for the first time about his ordeal as he returned to
his hit ITV1 talk show.
He said: “It’s been a horrific time — a very sobering experience — but now I
just feel lucky to be alive. I feel lucky that I’m here for my family and
can see my kids grow up.”
Jeremy found the lump in December after flying home from New York, where he
filmed the second series of his show’s US version.
The presenter, dad to Alice, nine, Ava, seven, Henry, three, and 22-year-old
Hattie from a previous marriage, said: “I got back on December 17 and had a
fantastic day with my wife Carla and the children.
“I was in the shower next morning and thought I found something unusual. I
thought to myself I should probably get it checked and made an appointment
with my GP for the following afternoon.”
However, Jeremy ended up cancelling the crucial appointment.
He said: “Hattie was visiting from Australia and we were having such a good
time I thought, ‘I can’t be bothered with that doctor’s appointment’. I
thought I was just being paranoid anyway.
“The next morning I was reading The Sun with my breakfast and I turned to the
‘Me’ health pullout.
“On the cover was a huge article urging men to ‘check their baubles for
Christmas’. It featured a bloke who’d ignored a testicular tumour.
“I thought to myself, ‘I must see a doctor’ and went that afternoon.”
Jeremy’s GP did not believe there was particular cause for alarm, but referred
him to a specialist as a precaution.
The star said: “I was due to film the ITV show Text Santa that evening, but
the GP said I could go and see the specialist on the way — he just wanted to
be sure.
“I went in to the consultant, who did a two-minute examination and then told
me I wasn’t going anywhere because I had a cancerous tumour. I was
gobsmacked.
“Cancer is just one little word but, when you hear it, it turns your whole
life upside down.
“To be honest, I thought, ‘That’s it, I’m dead’. The telephone call I then
made to Carla was one of the most difficult of my life. She says she doesn’t
know how she didn’t collapse on the drive.
“I was whisked straight in for a scan of my organs. I kept thinking, ‘Twenty
minutes ago I was fine and on my way to film a show, now I’m lying here in a
hospital gown’.”
Jeremy, famed for his straight-talking telly style, was rushed in for surgery
the next day.
He said: “The night before my op I ate loads — ice cream, spaghetti, all my
favourites. It was weird. It was like I thought, ‘I might as well, who knows
what’ll happen tomorrow’?
“Carla walked me to the door of the operating theatre. I lay on the bed
for what seemed like an eternity and then these two anaesthetists walked in
and I started crying.
“I remember the last thing I said to them was, ‘I bet there are millions
of people who would think it was brilliant that Jeremy Kyle was lying here
like this now’.
“When I came round I was in agony. They had removed my left testicle, but
I couldn’t have cared less about that. When you hear that word cancer, it
just cancels everything else out. Who cares if I would only have one ball?”
Jeremy movingly told how the night after the operation, he was too afraid to
sleep. He said: “I met this amazing nurse called Maria. She was due to
finish her shift at 9pm but she sat with me till 3.30 in the morning. I
couldn’t have the light out. It sounds stupid, but I’d got it into my head
that if the lights went out, that would be it.”
A biopsy revealed his tumour was 95 per cent toxic and, had it remained
unchecked, could have killed him within just 18 months.
Jeremy, who has previously beaten a gambling addiction and suffers from
obsessive compulsive disorder, said: “The specialist said he was amazed I
found the tumour, so I suppose there are some upsides to being an OCD freak!”
More than 2,000 men in Britain are diagnosed with testicular cancer every
year. If caught early, like Jeremy’s, it is one of the easiest forms of the
disease to treat and more than 95 per cent of patients will be completely
cured.
Despite his successful op, Jeremy had an agonising wait over Christmas to
learn whether the cancer had spread to other parts of his body.
He said: “I was sat there on Christmas Day watching my children opening their
presents thinking, ‘Will I be here this time next year’? It was horrible.”
Fortunately Jeremy’s cancer was still at Stage One and had not spread.
However doctors instructed him to undergo chemotherapy as a precaution. He
said: “Two days after the chemo I felt terrible, like I had a permanent
migraine and had been shot in every limb. I was knackered, starving. The
doctor explained that was because I had essentially been poisoned.”
Jeremy, who celebrated ten years of marriage to Carla just before his
diagnosis, said: “Going through an experience like that brings a new
dimension to a relationship.
“Carla was amazing, she nursed me and helped me shower. I remember she joked,
‘Man flu I don’t have any time for, but this is a bit different, Jez’.”
Ironically, the cancer diagnosis came at a time when life could scarcely
have been sweeter for Jeremy.
The Jeremy Kyle Show still pulls in the biggest ratings of any morning
programme and the American version has proved a hit too.
Meanwhile Jeremy and his team were celebrating their first National Television
Award nomination.
He said: “I was meant to be there but instead I found myself sitting at home
in a dressing gown watching it on TV and feeling really ill.”
Jeremy jetted to Dubai for a short sunshine break after finishing chemotherapy
but returned to filming in Manchester yesterday.
And he admitted his first day back was tough. “When I walked out and heard the
applause I had tears in my eyes,” he confessed.
“But it’s the right thing to do to help me get back to normal.
“This experience has changed me. Although I am jumping with joy to have beaten
this thing, it makes you realise what’s really important.
“I’m not saying I got cancer because I worked too hard — but last year I
filmed 359 shows.
“Going through this has made me realise how important the work-life balance is.
Life isn’t a dress rehearsal. The whole experience has knocked me for six.
“Carla and I still talk for hours about how I was in New York filming,
oblivious the whole time that I was walking around with cancer.”
Jeremy said he has been hugely buoyed by the outpouring of support he has
received since The Sun broke the story of his illness.
He said: “It’s been overwhelming. When I arrived home last night a bloke at
the airport said, ‘Welcome home, Mr Kyle,’ and then whispered, ‘Sorry about
the cancer’.
“I’m sort of paranoid that everyone will be glancing at my trousers to see if
they can spot anything different. But do you know what — at the end of the
day, who cares?
“I’d rather a prosthetic testicle if it means I’m around to see my kids grow
up.”
myView
By CAROL COOPER, Sun Doctor
THE outlook for testicular cancer is excellent if it’s diagnosed early, before
it can spread.
Those who have been treated with surgery not only lead completely normal
lives, but can go on to have children.
Self-examination is a good idea.
The shower, where Jeremy Kyle discovered a lump, is the best place.
Warm water helps the scrotum relax, so the testicles are easier to feel.
It’s good for men to examine themselves regularly, say once a month, so they
can pick up any changes promptly.
Symptoms to watch out for include lumps, a change in weight, size or texture
of a testicle, and any pain.
While these don’t always mean cancer, a man with any of the symptoms should
see the GP without delay.