Radio presenter Jamie Theakston has reflected on his battle with laryngeal cancer, two years on from his shock diagnosis.
The Heart Breakfast host, 55, explained that he chose to have three surgeries over chemotherapy to battle the disease and they were a ‘success’.
However, he said he is ‘still in treatment’ as he has check ups every two months due the ‘fear it could come back’.
Speaking on his radio show on World Cancer Day on Wednesday, Jamie said: ‘So I was diagnosed back in, it August 2024 I got my cancer diagnosis.
‘I was offered the choice of having chemo or surgery. I opted for the surgery and after three surgeries my cancer had gone, and it was a success.
‘I never rang a bell though. What tends to happen is most people tend to ring the bell after they’ve had their chemo. So, when their chemo or radiotherapy finishes that’s when they get a chance to ring the bell.
Radio presenter Jamie Theakston has reflected on his battle with laryngeal cancer, two years on from his shock diagnosis
The Heart Breakfast host, 55, explained that he chose to have three surgeries over chemotherapy to battle the disease and they were a ‘success’
‘Mine was slightly different because I had the surgery, I then had to get monthly check ups for a year and I’m still in that cycle.
‘So, in year two I now go into two monthly check-ups because it can come back.
‘Obviously, there is always that fear. So, I’m almost slightly reluctant to ring the bell technically because I’m still in treatment.
‘But I also feel maybe I think if it inspires anyone else then we should all give it a go.’
Last year, Jamie revealed he initially kept his possible cancer diagnosis a secret from beloved wife Sophie Siegle for weeks as they enjoyed a family holiday to Japan.
He said he was so blindsided by the news he worked hard to ‘suppress it’ in order to enjoy the trip with their sons Sidney, 17, and Kit, 16.
Jamie announced he had been diagnosed with stage one laryngeal cancer in October 2024 after listeners had noticed there was something not right with his voice. His cancer was a type that affects the larynx (voice box).
Speaking on Davina McCall’s Begin Again podcast, Jamie explained that he had to undergo emergency scans just hours before boarding a plane for their long-awaited family trip.
However, he said he is ‘still in treatment’ as he has check ups every two months due the ‘fear it could come back’
He said: ‘I had the surgery, I then had to get monthly check ups for a year and I’m still in that cycle because it can come back. Obviously, there is always that fear’
‘I didn’t tell anyone. At that stage, I thought, well, it might not be cancer. So there’s no point really in saying anything,’ he said. ‘I just tried to suppress it. All I could think was, it’s probably not.’
It wasn’t until the biopsy results came back that the cancer diagnosis was confirmed. ‘I then had to go home and tell my wife,’ he said. ‘She was distraught.’
‘I went on holiday with this in the back of my mind, We had a fantastic time – but obviously, this was there in the background.’
Breaking the news to his sons, he said, was the hardest part: ‘I had to explain to them that I was going to be fine, but they were too young to understand. When you say you’ve got cancer to a 14-year-old, they think you’re going to die’.
‘My youngest son had been with me when I was told my mum had died of cancer, so he knew what it meant.’
Jamie lost his mum in late 2022. ‘I was so pleased that she had died before I got cancer,’ he said. ‘I would’ve hated for her to know. I’m not sure what that would’ve done to her.
During the chat he recalled how listeners noticed his voice had changed: ‘People mentioned my voice wasn’t sounding right,’ he said. ‘And I knew it wasn’t right myself, but you just think – sore throat, nothing serious.’
But a visit to a throat specialist changed everything. ‘He looked at my throat and said, “Oh yeah, that’s probably cancer” I said “What do you mean?” And he said “Nine times out of ten, it is cancer and we need to get you scanned now.”’
Last year, Jamie revealed he initially kept his possible cancer diagnosis a secret from beloved wife Sophie Siegle for weeks as they enjoyed a family holiday to Japan
After his initial surgery, doctors feared some cancerous cells may have been left behind, prompting a second, and eventually a third operation. ‘We were getting dangerously close to removing so much of the vocal cord that I wouldn’t be able to talk again,’ he reflected.
But the third surgery was successful, and in January last year, Jamie triumphantly returned to Heart Breakfast alongside co-host Amanda Holden – whom he credits with getting him through it.
‘Amanda was incredible,’ he said. ‘She checked in on me nonstop. She kept the show going. She’s a force of nature.’
Listen to Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden weekdays from 06:30 – 10:00 across the UK and on Global Player
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