Rod Stewart's Prostate Cancer Battle
- Singer-songwriter Rod Stewart, who battled both prostate and thyroid cancers, is set to end his world-wide touring; News that comes just months after his alcohol use has reportedly sparked worry in fans and loved ones.
- Stewart was first diagnosed with prostate cancer after a routine screening in 2016, and he shared he was cancer-free in 2019. He also battled thyroid cancer.
- Prostate cancer, the most common form of cancer in men, can sometimes be misdiagnosed based on results from a PSA test. Still, our experts maintain that the PSA tests are helpful, and you should talk with your doctor about your own risks for the cancer and screening options.
- Symptoms of the disease are inconsistent and hard to pinpoint but may include changes in urinary function like urinating more or less often or waking up at night to go more than usual.
The legendary rock star and singer, known for his songs “Maggie May” and “The Old Heart of Mine,” took to Instagram this week to in form his fans of his upcoming change in schedule.
Read MoreStewart continued, “I’m fit, have a full head of hair, and can run 100 meters in 18 seconds at the jolly old age of 79.View this post on Instagram
“I’d like to move onto a Great American Songbook, Swing Fever tour the year after next—smaller venues and more intimacy. But then again, I may not.”
He signed off with, “The Ambiguous Sir Rod Stewart.”
Just a few days prior to his “end of large-scale world tour” announcement, Stewart shared his upcoming 2025 tour schedule, with Cheap Trick.
He captioned the post, “ONE LAST TIME! You won’t want to miss these shows with special guest @cheaptrick!
“Plus, I’ll be stopping in Tampa and Lake Tahoe!”
View this post on Instagram
In an earlier post this month, Stewart shared a few photos of some memorable performances, writing, “From stages around the world, these moments over the years have been unforgettable.
“Thanks to all the incredible fans who make every show special!”
However, amid the celebratory photos from recent years, sources close to the iconic singer have expressed their fears about Stewart’s love for partying in a recent interview with RadarOnline.com.
Sources spoke with the news outlet after photos of Stewart after a night of drinking were revealed on the internet. Something which may be shocking to those who know that Stewart promised to stop drinking as much back in 2021.
“Rod always prided himself in his ability to pound down his drinks with the best of them. But now people are afraid of the cumulative damage he’s done to himself,” sources informed RadarOnline.com.
View this post on Instagram
Stewart, who will be turning 80 in January, also admitted earlier this year to the U.S. Sun, “I’m aware my days are numbered, but I’ve got no fear. We have all got to pass on at some point, so we are all in the same basket. I am going to be enjoying myself for these last few years as much as I can.
“I say few … probably another 15. I can do that easy mate, easy.”
Stewart also finished up his Las Vegas residency at Caesar’s Palace earlier this year, after 13 years.
Rod Stewart’s Battle With Prostate & Thyroid Cancers
Rod Stewart was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016 at age 71 following a routine check-up with his doctor.
Stewart was given the “all clear” from his doctors in 2019 following successful treatment for the disease. Previously, Stewart’s wife, Penny Lancaster, spoke about her husband’s cancer on a British TV talk show.
“It was quite aggressive and it came on really quickly, Lancaster explained. “Instead of remaining in the [prostate] gland, it had left the gland and traveled to the outside tissues.”
According to Lancaster, Stewart couldn’t be treated with surgery alone. “Knowing it had traveled outside, we couldn’t have the gland removed, so he had to have a three-month intensive course of radiation, traveling into London the same time every single day, going to the clinic.”
Meanwhile, Stewart was also diagnosed with thyroid cancer over 20 years ago, a diagnosis which led him to briefly fear that the disease would rob him of his voice.
Appearing on the British talk show “Loose Women,” Stewart talked about the alarm he experienced one morning when he woke up and “couldn’t sing a note.”
The singer played down his thyroid cancer battle, however, saying: “I had a touch of thyroid cancer; it was over and out within 10 minutes.”
Stewart then explained to the hosts that he did not want “to pretend I fought cancer for months and months” because, in his case, “it was really easy to get rid of.”
Understanding Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. About one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime. The disease begins in the walnut-shaped prostate gland located between the rectum and bladder. This gland produces the fluid that nourishes sperm.
Symptoms of the disease are inconsistent and hard to pinpoint.
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“Prostate cancer is a very odd disease in that it doesn’t have a particular symptom,” Dr. Edwin Posadas, director of translational oncology and the medical director of the Urologic Oncology Program at Cedars-Sinai, explained.
But changes in urinary function like urinating more or less often or waking up at night to go more than usual could be a sign of the disease. It’s important to note, however, that these potential symptoms could also could be caused by a urinary tract infection or even an enlargement of the prostate gland (which is not cancer).
There’s No One Definitive Symptom for Prostate Cancer, But There Are Clues
Prostate cancer screening methods look for possible signs of the disease, but they can’t determine for sure if you have cancer. The only way to know for sure if the patient has prostate cancer is with a prostate biopsy a procedure in which small samples of the prostate are removed and examined under a microscope. But generally speaking, screening for prostate cancer involves a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test and a digital rectal exam to feel the prostate gland.
Doctors that have spoken with SurvivorNet shared a hopeful outlook when considering a prostate cancer diagnosis because there are many treatment options, and there’s been significant treatment progress over the past decade.
Surgical and radiation options, for example, have made improvements in reducing side effects of treatment while still providing excellent cure rates. Even for men with an advanced-stage diagnosis, many new options exist to treat prostate cancer and help them maintain an excellent quality of life.
Understanding Thyroid Cancer
Thyroid cancer is a disease that begins in the thyroid gland, which is at the base of the neck. The cancer will often present itself as a large bump (tumor) in the neck. It remains unclear what causes the disease. Some symptoms of thyroid cancer can be mistaken for a common cold.
Dr. Scott Strome, a head and neck cancer surgeon who is currently the dean of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, and previous chair of head and neck surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, explained thyroid cancer in an earlier interview with SurvivorNet.
“We’re now able to detect thyroid disease, thyroid cancers, much earlier than we used to be able to,” Dr. Strome says. “We tend to see it predominantly in younger women, but it can occur in both men and women. In most cases, I tell my patients that, ‘Your thyroid cancer is a barnacle on the ship of life.’”
Dr. Strome suggests finding an experienced thyroid expert for treatment.
“Folks who have thyroid cancer, they need to go to a really experienced thyroid setting and have folks who really understand the disease. Those are for the most indolent type of thyroid cancers, called papillary,” he explained.
“Thyroid cancer is a pretty interesting disease, because papillary is a really indolent cancer. On the other end of the spectrum, you have what’s called anaplastic thyroid cancer, which may be one of (if not the) most aggressive cancers that we see. So it’s a whole spectrum of disease.”
What You Should Expect From Your Doctor
Treatments for thyroid cancer can include surgery, hormone therapy, radioactive iodine, radiation, and chemotherapy.
Symptoms of thyroid cancer include the following:
- A lump in the neck, sometimes growing quickly
- Swelling in the neck
- Pain in the front of the neck, sometimes going up to the ears
- Hoarseness or other voice changes that do not go away
- Trouble swallowing
- Trouble breathing
- A constant cough that is not due to a cold
“Most people have no discrete symptoms the majority of cases now are found incidentally,” Dr. Allen Ho said in a previous interview with SurvivorNet.
“However, a sizable number of people may first discover their cancer when they feel a bump on their neck. Other possible late symptoms include problems swallowing, the sensation of something in their throat, neck compression when laying flat or voice changes.”
The good news is that many of these possible symptoms, including lumps in the thyroid, are both common and commonly benign but it never hurts to ask your doctor.
Chances of cancer recovery increase significantly with early detection, so it’s important to address any warning signs of thyroid cancer, or any cancer for that matter, with a medical expert swiftly.
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Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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