Rhod Gilbert is delighted to be back on stage performing a monologue two years after being diagnosed with cancer.
The star, 55, was diagnosed with head and neck cancer in 2022 and battled the disease before being discharged in October last year.
During a fundraising trip, he noticed some symptoms that later turned out to be head and neck cancer.
But the artist is happy to be back doing what he loves as he goes on tour and welcomes his audience to his fellow cancer sufferers who are “taking some power back from this miserable disease by laughing at it.”
Of his current health, he said during an appearance on The One Show on Monday: “Everything is still fine.” Still under the care of the wonderful Velindre Cancer Center in Cardiff. They check me every few weeks but everything is still fine.
Rhod Gilbert is delighted to be back on stage performing a stand-up two years after being diagnosed with cancer (seen on The One Show on Monday).
The artist is excited to go on tour and welcome fellow cancer sufferers to his audience who are “taking some power back from this miserable disease by laughing at it” (pictured from November last year).
‘I feel wonderful. I have a lot of problems that I may or may not have for the rest of my life, who knows. Who cares!
‘I’m here, I’m fine and every night, I’m on stage pinching myself for doing this. That I’m on stage performing right now two years after I was diagnosed.
The comedian will perform across the UK in 2024 and 2025 on his Rhod Gilbert & The Giant Grapefruit tour and says his illness influenced some of the content of his show.
Rhod explained: ‘Grapefruit, partly a nod to the tumor he had in his neck, and partly to the fact that when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.
“Well, this is what you do when life starts throwing grapefruits at you, which is even worse in my opinion, but it’s a happy sight, it’s an uplifting sight.”
Rhod received his first clear scan in October last year after undergoing treatment for stage four cancer.
He was diagnosed with head and neck cancer in July 2022 and was treated at Cardiff’s Velindre Cancer Centre, where he had been a fundraising supporter for a decade before his diagnosis.
He underwent surgery for metastatic head and neck cancer, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy sessions.
The star, 55, was diagnosed with head and neck cancer in 2022 and battled the disease before recovering in October last year (pictured last year).
The comedian will perform across the UK in 2024 and 2025 on his Rhod Gilbert & The Giant Grapefruit tour and says his illness influenced some of the content of his show (pictured in 2018).
Rhod previously spoke with the radio timeswhere he described finding out his cancer had not spread as “the best day of my life.”
He recalled: “I was back on the road earlier this year, I got a call to tell me that my latest scan had shown the cancer was in the areas they knew, but it wasn’t in my lungs or my brain.”
Then he had his first clear scan and said, “The best thing was that the tumor was gone and it was a normal blood vessel again.”
Rhod revealed that he was battling cancer in 2022 in a statement released on social media, just days after pausing his tour at the time.
He wrote: ‘As a proud patron of the Velindre Cancer Centre, I have traveled the world, hosting chaotic competitions and star-studded comedy nights.
‘I have met and made friends with so many inspiring staff, patients and their families. It’s been a big part of my life for the last ten years.
‘So, although I never imagined I would be a patient here, I know better than anyone that I am in the best hands possible.
‘The NHS care I am receiving is incredible. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone… but who knows, maybe he’ll come out the other side with a new stand-up show and a 40-minute rant about the orange pumpkin.
‘Thank you all for your support over the past weeks and months (and years).
“I will disappear for a while and make no further comments, at least not for now, while I focus on my recovery.”