Comedian Mark Steel diagnosed with cancer after spotting sign while shaving
Comedian Mark Steel has revealed he's been diagnosed with a cancer "that can be got rid of."
The popular BBC radio star, 63, wrote on his website how he noticed while shaving his neck was "looking much bigger than normal".
"I had to look from several angles before I believed the mirror – the first thought, when you notice a large abnormality on your body, is to assume the mind has made a mistake," he said. "Maybe the reflection is distorted by an eclipse of the moon or the northern lights, or maybe I’ve confused my left gland with my thigh."
At first, he Googled his symptoms and assumed it was an infection and ignored it for two weeks. However, as his neck got bigger still, he ended up booking an appointment at the doctor. "The following week I was in the doctor’s office, talking in the blokey way that men often talk to a doctor, saying ‘I’m sure it’s nothing, I ‘m sorry for coming’," he said.
Mark Steel noticed a growth on his neck while shaving (Corbis via Getty Images)The doctor referred Mark, a former columnist for the Sunday Mirror, for a scan. The hospital then referred him for a biopsy after getting concerned about the 'enlarged' and 'uneven' growth. When a doctor phoned him several nights later, they asked him about his symptoms and Mark realised they were "unsubtle cancer questions".
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Despite all the trips to the hospital, he still hoped he simply "twisted my neck into a lump by sleeping on a badly designed pillow." Following his biopsy, he was told he would hear back from them within a week. However, there were no updates after almost 14 days and the hospital explained they lost the biopsy in transit.
Not long after, he received a phone call about his cancer diagnosis. Mark said: "Then a completely new person called me, and said I had to go in for a repeat biopsy the next day 'to see what stage of cancer you have'. 'Hang on,' I said, 'No one has said it’s definitely cancer, are you saying it’s definitely cancer?' She paused. 'Yes. Had no one told you?'"
Writing in his candid blog post, he reminded readers to always be polite to NHS staff. "Most of the staff are paid appallingly and treated with contempt," he said. "Their minister quit and went on I’m a Celebrity, so don’t take out your frustrations on them. Even so, it’s reasonable to ask politely how they could have lost the biopsy and forgotten to tell me I had f***ing cancer."
Once the biopsy was found, the doctor told him he had cancer in at least two places. However, the 'primary cancer' in his throat is 'very treatable'. Scan results showed there was no cancer outside the neck and throat area. The treatments he's undergoing should be able to "cure it all."
"I’m writing this a few days from an operation that I hope will confirm the location of the cancer, from which a programme of treatment can begin. The current estimate is that I should be able to start performing again in about six months," Mark concluded his post. "So, that’s my current state of affairs. I have cancer, but it’s a cancer that can be got rid of."
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