The Undertones star Feargal Sharkey has shared how he was first diagnosed with prostate cancer after visiting his doctor with complaints of a sore throat.
The 66-year-old frontman shared his experience of receiving a testicular cancer diagnosis in 2023, after his GP insisted he undergo a series of routine tests that may have saved his life.
Sharkey, who has now been cancer-free for a year and says he is doing ‘very well’, urged men to attend cancer screenings.
He told The Express: ‘My doctor, being the beautiful, wonderful, awkward, cantankerous old man that is went, ‘Oh Feargal, by the way, you’re 65 now, I’m going to run the full battery of tests’.
‘Two days later, it turns out, I began a journey which led to the [diagnosis] of prostate cancer. Thankfully, that’s all now been resolved a year ago.
‘But here we are, had it not been for that random visit to my local GP, I would never have known that I was at that point carrying prostate cancer, and if it had not been seen to, it could have been a very different ending and a very different outcome to my life.
‘The reason I’m very happy to talk about it is because if there’s one man out there over the age of 45 go and see your GP. Go and get the blood test done.’
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The Irish singer, who has been a vocal critic of the water companies and is now a clean water campaigner, added: ‘If you’re lucky, you’ll walk away.’
He continued: ‘Hopefully, you’ll have caught it early on and you can deal with it and get on top of it.
‘I have such unbelievable admiration for Chris Hoy over the last couple of months, if you end up where Chris is, well you’re now looking for a very different outcome and not the one you were expecting for your life, my friend. So, for a blood test – go get it done right now.’
The six-time Olympic champion announced last year he has terminal prostate cancer and has been told by doctors that he has two to four years to live.
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