Rhod Gilbert has candidly shared his experience with his cancer battle. The 56 year old funnyman, who disclosed his stage four cancer diagnosis back in July 2022, underwent treatment at the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff.
Having supported the centre, Rhod never expected to become a patient there himself. Initially troubled by a sore throat and breathing difficulties, his condition escalated while he was in Cuba on a fundraising mission.
In December 2022, Rhod revealed: "In May, I noticed lumps started popping up in places they shouldn't be. It turns out I've got Stage 4 cancer."
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He also contracted Covid during the trip: "I also caught Covid on that walk as well. I came home with cancer and Covid from a Velindre fundraising trek... the irony of that! I went as a Velindre patron and came home as a patient."
He said: "It's just everywhere, which is why I think it's important to talk about it and get it out there and try and find humour in it and try and normalise it, and that's what I've been doing on stage. I just focused on what good I could do in that moment I suppose."
The comedian spoke about how he turned his health struggles into comedy, noting that the ordeal is "a lot less scary if your oncologist is laughing with you."
Having received a clean bill of health in early 2023, he re-joined the comedy circuit with his new show, Rhod Gilbert and The Giant Grapefruit. He shared the quirky title mingles a salute to Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach with a nod to "the giant tumour that was in his neck."
Plus, it's all about spinning negatives into positives—or in his words, "when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade."
He shared: "Still under the care of the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, still having checks every few weeks but, at the moment, all clear. I mean, I feel wonderful. I have a few issues that I may or may not have for the rest of my life. Who knows, who cares! I'm here, I'm good and every night, I'm sort of on-stage pinching myself that I'm doing this, performing now two years after being diagnosed."
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