Comedian Mark Steel has announced the difficult news that he's been diagnosed with cancer, but thankfully has been told it can be "cured".
The 63 year old BBC radio star told his fans that he luckily noticed something unusual during his routine daily shave, as he studied his neck in the mirror.
Mark then realised that his neck seemed to be "much bigger than normal," but was convinced at first that it was a simple "infection" and it would just go away.
After ignoring the bodily change for two weeks. Mark discovered that the abnormality was only getting bigger and bigger, prompting him to book an appointment with the doctor.
Explaining the situation with his followers, Mark began: "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.
"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."
After doing a typical Google of his symptoms, the former Sunday Mirror columnist put his health worries on hold until he could no longer ignore the growing size of the lump.
"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’," the star continued.
Thankfully, the GP realised straight away that Mark needed further tests and referred him for a scan. He was then referred for a biopsy by the hospital.
The star went on to explain that his test results got lost in transit, and as a result, consultants failed to tell him that he had been diagnosed with cancer in two places.
Instead, despite being told he would hear the news "within a week", Mark discovered his condition almost 14 days later through a phone call from a doctor who hadn't previously been in touch with him.
"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'," the star wrote in a new blog post. "'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?'" the comedian followed on, explaining that he was left feeling frustrated with how his cancer bombshell had been delivered.
While Mark urged readers to be kind to NHS workers and remember that "most of the staff are paid appallingly and treated with contempt," he was unimpressed by the slip-up with his biopsy results.
"Their minister quit and went on I’m a Celebrity, so don’t take out your frustrations on them," the radio host went on. "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."
After discovering that he had cancer in at least two places, the "primary cancer" in his throat is "very treatable".
Hopefully, the star's treament will be able to "cure it all" as he shared his positive outlook for the future.
"The current estimate is that I should be able to start performing again in about six months," Mark finished. "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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