Last fall, after a 45-year career in sports broadcasting “without a single day off for health problems,” Steve Rider learned he had prostate cancer, and that it could kill him if he didn’t act quickly.
He didn’t have a single symptom, and if it hadn’t been for his wife Jane, “who has been the star of all this,” Steve might not have followed a slightly elevated PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test.
This measures the protein produced by the prostate gland and can be a sign of cancer, but also benign problems such as an enlarged prostate.
Steve Rider, 73, has presented major sporting events including the Olympic Games, World Cups and Formula 1 Grands Prix for ITV, BBC and Sky.
However, Steve discovered that his 6cm tumor was very aggressive, as he tells Good Health in an exclusive interview, and in October he underwent a three-and-a-half-hour surgery to remove his entire prostate.
“It’s probably given me ten to fifteen years of quality of life that I probably wouldn’t have had if Jane hadn’t encouraged me to pay attention to the PSA test results,” admits Steve, 73, who has presented major events sports such as the Olympic Games, World Cups and Formula 1 Grand Prix, among others, for ITV, BBC and Sky over decades.
After the PSA test, Steve visited a specialist in August, who discovered “an abnormality” in his prostate and referred him for further scans and a biopsy.
Steve and his wife Jane have been married since 1985 and have two children.
“I thought, at my age, it might be cancer,” Steve says. But when he and Jane went to hear the results, the news was worse than he had imagined.
‘The specialist told us that the tumor was large and pressed against the wall of the prostate, and he was worried if it had reached the lymph nodes and bones because that is where it almost always spreads. He said it could grow quickly and be deadly.
Steve adds dryly: “It wasn’t the best day of our lives, but if I hadn’t followed the path I took, six months or a year later, we might have heard terrible news about terminal cancer that could have happened.” It has been the worst day of our lives.
His routine PSA test in late July was performed as part of a checkup to renew a prescription for high blood pressure medication. Steve confesses that neither he nor the private GP he saw noticed his slightly elevated PSA level of 6ng/ml. (For younger men, this should be three or less; a reading of five is acceptable for those over 70.)
However, Jane did, commenting that her previous scores were around 3 ng/ml, and insisted that she get more testing.
Steve found out the results of his scan and biopsy the day after a charity walk last September.
Steve says: ‘We knew some men in our village who were shocked when they followed up on their PSA results, so Jane made me go. However, we didn’t think this was going to lead to anything dramatic.”
(The couple, who live near Marlow, Buckinghamshire, have been married since 1985 and have two children, Jack, 34, a teacher and father of two, and Polly, 31, a digital content creator.)
Steve used health insurance to see a private specialist a couple of weeks later. He admits: “All he knew then was that prostate cancer was something guys had to look out for, but he didn’t know what or where the prostate was.”
A digital rectal exam (which Steve said “lasted about 45 seconds; men need to get over themselves and not be afraid”) revealed an abnormality on one side of his prostate. He then had a multiparametric MRI, which provides more detailed images than a standard MRI (as it uses a dye to highlight the blood vessels feeding a tumor), and then a PET scan.
This scan, which is not offered as standard on the NHS, checks for cancer in the body by monitoring a radioactive substance injected into a vein in the arm. This targets a protein expressed by cancerous and non-cancerous cells; In prostate cancer, many copies of the protein are created.
Steve then underwent a transperineal biopsy to take tissue samples from his prostate. Days later he was able to join Jeff Stelling’s Football Walk, to help raise almost £400,000 in memory of BBC breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull, who died of prostate cancer in 2022 and whom Steve had met several times.
Throughout the four-hour walk, Steve talked to people who had prostate cancer and encountered people who had misinterpreted or ignored their PSA results. “Many people consider it pass or fail, but, like me, it may just be the first clue that more needs to be done,” Steve says.
There were also those who had quite low or variable PSA (test results) but still had cancer. I really discovered how unreliable the PSA test can be.’
The test can give false negative and false positive results, which can lead to missed advanced cancers or unnecessary tests and treatments.
Steve found out the results of his scan and biopsy the day after the charity walk last September.
Although he expected to be told he needed treatment, he was surprised to learn that his tumor was “deeply embedded in the prostate, rapidly growing, and at the upper end of the Gleason scale.” This is a measure of how abnormal the prostate cells look; a score of eight to ten indicates an aggressive cancer: Steve’s score was eight.
They advised him that the most effective method would be to remove the entire prostate. Despite this, Steve felt relieved. “We were presented with a solution that was almost 100 percent effective,” he says. “It was chilling news, but there was a get-out-of-jail-free card.”
A multiparametric MRI that Steve performed provides more detailed images than a standard MRI, as it uses a dye to highlight the blood vessels feeding a tumor (file image).
He went home feeling fine the day after his keyhole surgery, but the next day “I couldn’t get out of bed; every muscle in the upper half of my body was screaming,” he says. However, the surgery was successful: “When I went back in December for an update, the consultant said my PSA level was too low to measure, so it was effectively zero – the best news.”
Friends, including fellow TV presenter Nick Owen, who revealed his own prostate cancer diagnosis last year, joined in. “Nick and I compared our reaction to the pelvic floor exercises we had to do (for me they are a chore) to overcome the mild urinary incontinence that can occur after the operation,” says Steve. Jane administered anticoagulant injections and changed the drainage bag attached to her urinary catheter.
“I was sleeping in the hallway because that bag on your leg is not the most romantic thing,” he says. “I would wake up at 6:30 a.m. and, funnily enough, Jane would come in to change my bag.”
Standing 5 feet 8 inches tall, Steve has lost 10 pounds since his surgery. He now weighs 12 pounds and wants to stay in shape. Although he previously led a “moderately healthy” life, with regular runs and charity walks, he has now adopted healthier habits: “The bottle of wine every night has not appeared again,” he says.
A possible side effect of surgery is erectile dysfunction. ‘I have no reason to think it won’t work anymore, but if it doesn’t work, so what? I am 73 years old, have a family and grandchildren; It’s not my number one problem.
‘There is a slight urinary problem: the sprinkler system is a little erratic. “It’s all part of the glorious indignity and humor of it all.”
Steve wants to share his experiences to raise awareness among men. He has also decided it is time to “retire” from his presenting career to enjoy life with his family.
“Cancer has changed me,” he says. ‘I’ve got one more year left at ITV and that’s probably it.
‘We have a lot of fun looking after the grandchildren three days a week and doing the school run, and we like to travel.
“They have reminded me of what is important in life, how families can come together and provide strength when needed.”