Chris Evans gets all-clear after skin cancer diagnosis
Radio DJ Chris Evans has been given the medical all-clear, eight weeks after he announced he had been diagnosed with skin cancer.
The 57-year-old presenter gave listeners of his Virgin Radio UK Breakfast Show an update on Wednesday (20 September), having informed them of his condition back in August.
Evans previously described the cancer, which was noticed in its early stages, as being “as treatable as cancer can possibly be”.
Speaking on Wednesday, Evans described being unable sleep after receiving an email about the diagnosis.
“I didn’t sleep, hardly at all last night ... two or three hours,” he said. “A good night, I’ll get six, four or five and because I wake up every 90 minutes for my circadian rhythm, and I surrender to that now, actually I look forward to going back to sleep three times a night, because that’s where I live.
“But I never thought for a second you could lose a night’s sleep because of an email like this.”
The email in question was sent from his consultant plastic surgeon, and concerned the cancerous material found on his leg.
Co-presenter Vassos Alexander then read from the correspondance live on air.
“I have forwarded the pathology report,” the message began. “It is excellent news. There is no residual disease. You have the all-clear.”
“I had a phone conversation with my dermatologist, and she told me that, obviously, the freckle that had moved, metastasised, was malignant, because the biopsy had come back, and that I would need treatment, and would have to have it removed. So we did, and that was last Thursday,” Evans explained.
“And so, at quarter-to-four last Thursday, I had cancer and at quarter-to-five, I didn’t. And I just found that out last night. And that’s because time is your biggest weapon against it, if you have an abundance of it, and its biggest weapon against you if you have a lack of it.”
Evans, who is also known for hosting TV series such as The Big Breakfast on Channel 4 and Top Gear for the BBC, went on to implore listeners to seek medical advice if they experience cancer symptoms.
“If you’re worried about anything, just bear in mind the fact that eight weeks ago I was diagnosed with cancer and now I don’t have it at all. At all,” Evans said.
“And that’s why you just need to attend to things. And it’s really tough, because for years I was the guy who wouldn’t go anywhere near that. But you know, times have changed, thank God.”
Additional reporting by PA
