Rhod Gilbert breaks silence on cancer revealing he 'couldn't speak or breathe'

18 February 2023 , 01:26

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Rhod Gilbert has been praised for his brave - and comedic - approach to dealing with head and neck cancer, with the star declaring his annoyance over his diagnosis after years of campaigning against cancer.

The 54-year-old comedian was diagnosed with the disease in July last year and explained at the time that he is suffering from stage four cancer.

He has been treated at the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff - where he had been a fundraising patron for a decade before.

Having responded well to his treatment, Rhod said he felt he was ‘coming back’ from the disease and made light of his frightening diagnosis during a speech at the National Comedy Awards on Friday, which was in support of Stand Up 2 Cancer.

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Rhod Gilbert made a surprise appearance at the British Comedy Awards on Friday night (Channel 4)

Rhod said: “I’ve led five fundraising treks all over the world, I do stand-up comedy nights to raise money, I hosted quizzes… it’s been a big part of my life for the last 10 years, so imagine my surprise when I was diagnosed with cancer.

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“Which p***ed me off no end, because I thought I’d have life-long immunity! Apparently not.

“Apparently you’re just as likely to get cancer even if you spend your time fundraising for a cancer hospital. Anyway, I did get it, and it turns out it can come for anybody.”

Rhod continued: “The other irony is that I was in Cuba on a trek, fundraising for this cancer centre when the first lump popped up in my neck. I left as a patron and came back as a patient.

Rhod Gilbert breaks silence on cancer revealing he 'couldn't speak or breathe'

Rhod has been battling cancer since last summer and has been updating fans about his fight (RhodGilbert/Facebook)

“I’d been struggling for a while anyway, with pain in my neck and a sore throat and I couldn’t speak or breathe, and I was postponing tour shows, I had terrible spasms in my face and tightness in my muscles.

“Couldn’t get to the bottom of it, turns out after a biopsy that I have something called head and neck cancer. Cancer of the head, sounded pretty serious.”

Rhod endured surgery, daily sessions of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in his battle to confront the illness.

He revealed: “That’s another thing. I had to have chemotherapy in a room with pictures of me on the way in! Grinning down at myself like, ‘Come on, you can do it!’, which was a bit odd.”

(Daily Post)

He added: “But, my care has been faultless, my facial hair is back, my voice is back to normal, my weight is starting to come back, my saliva glands are coming back. Basically, I’m coming back!

“My physical recovery goal is to lead the next fundraising trek to Morocco, we’re a way off that at the moment but I’m feeling really optimistic. Weirdly, I’m really happy.”

Fans flooded social media with positive messages for the star after his speech.

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One tweeted: “Incredible to hear Rhod Gilbert talk about the lesser recognised head and neck cancer. The treatment is brutal and the side effects permanent #NationalComedyAwards.”