Stephen Fry recovering from prostate cancer surgery
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Stephen Fry is recovering from surgery for prostate cancer and said "it all seemed to go pretty well".
The broadcaster, who had his operation in early January, said on his website: "They took the prostate out," adding: "So far as we know it's all been got."
He said it was an "aggressive" cancer but it "doesn't seem" to have spread.
The former QI host added: "For the moment I'm fit and well and happy and I just wanted to let you know because rumours had started to swirl."
In the video on his site, he said: "You have to recover and that's what I've been doing."
He said his family and "my darling, darling husband" Elliott Spencer had been "just marvellous".
"Here's hoping I've got another few years left on this planet because I enjoy life at the moment and that's a marvellous thing to be able to say, and I'd rather it didn't go away," he added.
His condition was given a Gleason Score – a scale used to rate the aggressiveness of prostate cancer – of nine out of 10 before the operation, in which surgeons removed 11 lymph nodes.
Fry added that he had to get used to the idea of the diagnosis, saying: "I went around saying to myself, 'I've got cancer. Good heavens, Stephen, you're not the sort of person who gets cancer.'
"I know it's an old cliche but you don't think it's going to happen to you."
He urged men to get their PSA [prostate specific antigen] levels checked with a doctor.
"I generally felt my life was saved by this early intervention, so I would urge any of you men of a certain age to get your PSA levels checked," he said.
NHS Choices says there are pros and cons of having the test, which can be unreliable and cause unnecessary worry.
What is prostate cancer?
- It's the most common cancer in men in the UK – an ageing population means more men are developing and dying from the disease
- 40,000 new cases are diagnosed and around 11,000 men die from it each year
- It can develop slowly over years and many men have no symptoms
- Noticeable symptoms include needing to urinate more often and weak flow
- There is no single test for prostate cancer – the PSA blood test, biopsies and physical examinations are all used
- Prostate cancer warning signs to look out for
- Prostate cancer deaths overtake those from breast cancer
- Prostate awareness 'dangerously low' in British men
Fans, including some famous names, sent good wishes on Twitter:
Skip Twitter post by @JenniferKirby08
Dearest @stephenfry sending love to you. It's funny how a person one has never met can mean quite so much. I still listen to you reading the Harry Potter books when I feel down. Your voice is an old friend and has carried me through the toughest times. Rest up
— Jennifer Kirby (@JenniferKirby08) February 23, 2018
End of Twitter post by @JenniferKirby08
Skip Twitter post by @addamschloe
I'm generally opposed to the concept of immortality, but I support any initiative to ensure that Stephen Fry still exists at the very end of the universe, commenting on the stars going out
— Chloe Adams (@addamschloe) February 23, 2018
End of Twitter post by @addamschloe
Fry's wide-ranging career
The 60-year-old stepped down last month as host of the Bafta Film Awards. He was replaced by Joanna Lumley at last week's ceremony.
A prolific broadcaster and writer, he hosted BBC Two's irreverent quiz show QI for 13 years, and starred in ITV's comedy series Jeeves and Wooster as well as BBC comedy Blackadder with Rowan Atkinson.
His mellifluous tones were used for the Harry Potter UK audiobooks, while his own books include three volumes of autobiography.
In 1997, he played Oscar Wilde in the film Wilde, and directed Bright Young Things in 2003.
His documentary Stephen Fry's The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive won an Emmy Award in 2007.
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