NICK'S FIGHT
BBC star Nick Owen, 75, reveals the moment doctor told him he was battling ‘aggressive’ prostate cancer
BBC's Nick Owen has revealed he has been secretly battling 'aggressive' prostate cancer.
The former TV-AM presenter, 75, recounted the 'grim diagnosis' that he received, calling it the "worst day of his life".
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Nick shared the devastating diagnosis on BBC News programme Midlands Today, where he has been a mainstay for more than 25 years.
"I went to a specialist, he wasn't too worried because my figures weren't that high," he explained.
"But he decided I ought to have a scan and then the scan said there was something dodgy going on, and then he sent me for a biopsy which he did."
Nick revealed how the news of the prostate cancer has impacted him as he revealed: "And the results of that were the killer - on April the 13th, a date which will forever be imprinted on my mind.
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"He told us that it was extensive really, and aggressive, and I had prostate cancer full-on and something needed to be done pretty fast.
"And that was probably the worst day of my life, or certainly one of them."
However, the TV personality said his friends and family have been amazing as those close to him reached out to help.
He also paid particular tribute to his wife, reflexologist Vicki Beevers whom he married in July 2020 in a ceremony in Staffordshire.
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"It was a very grim moment, driving home after that sort of news and ringing people, texting people, my phone went crazy for hours on end.
"And it was a very, very difficult time for me, and indeed for my wife Vicki who was by my side all the time through this, you know. It was grim."
Nick made the decision to have a radical prostatectomy, which involves removing the whole prostate gland.
He plans to return to hosting Midlands Today in the autumn, but admits it has been a "bumpy ride" to recovery.
Nick first rose to fame in the eighties when he became a sports reporter on the UK's first commercial breakfast show on ITV.
He was promoted officially to head anchor of TV-AM's Good Morning Britain in 1983 after the departure of Angela Rippon and Anna Ford.
The television personality presented the show until 1966 when he departed the station to become a regular presenter for ITV Sport.
This comes just months after his friend and former co-star Anne Diamond spoke of the moment she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Nick said they had been supporting each other over their cancer diagnoses.
He said: “We’ve been cajoling each other.
“We both had major surgeries.
“We’ve been either texting or phoning, it’s a tough old time.
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“Even though she’s sort of better and I’m sort of better, you’re not quite yourself for a while, it takes it out of you.”
He continued: “It’s just so ironic that she and I, who are, I suppose, forever associated as a partnership professionally, we got male female cancers.”
What is prostate cancer and what are the signs you need to know?
One in eight Brit blokes will get prostate cancer in their lifetime.
Many will live long lives and not experience too many nasty symptoms.
But in others, their cancer will spread, which is when the disease can turn deadly.
Prostate cancer currently kills 10,900 men-a-year, but Prostate Cancer UK warn that this number could surge to 15,000-a-year by 2026.
What are the symptoms?
In most cases, prostate cancer doesn't have any symptoms until the growth is big enough to put pressure on the urethra - that tube you pee through.
- Needing to urinate more often, especially at night
- Needing to rush to the toilet
- Difficulty in starting to pee
- Weak flow
- Straining and taking a long time while peeing
- Feeling that your bladder hasn't emptied fully
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