Rod Stewart's Prostate Cancer Battle
- Singer-songwriter Rod Stewart, who fought both prostate and thyroid cancers, is being praised for looking “fantastic,” “great,” and “handsome” at 81 while celebrating a win by the The Celtic Football Club, a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow.
- 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.
Donning a suit, a Celtic neck chain, and green nails, Stewart is seen in a video clip saying, “Celtic had a fine win today against the Hibs [Hibernian Football Club] who were a bit unlucky to go down to 10.
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One fan commented, “Well dear Rod you look great and handsome. Good luck. Blessing.”
Another wrote, “Class act Sir Rod! Saw you in Huntsville in April. Your were fabulous and I loved the video clips. Keep on spreading love and unity.”
“Even know great hair, thanks to God you’re still performing,” a third fan commented.
A fourth fan described him as looking “fantastic.”
It’s wonderful to see the love and support flowing in for Stewart. Another fan even thanked the “Maggie May” singer for helping him get through “a pretty rough life.”
“Your music saved my soul & I’ll forever be grateful to you …There’s no one like you in my book & I’m so not alone,” the fan said.
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The iconic rock star and singer, known for his songs “Maggie May” and “The Old Heart of Mine,” is continuing to impress fans by extending his “One Last Time” tour, which runs through August 15, 2026.
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.”
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What Are the Current Prostate Cancer Screening Guidelines?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) both recommend that men at average risk between the ages of 55 and 69 years talk with their doctor about the pros and cons of prostate cancer screening.
The American Cancer Society recommends that men at age 50 who are at average risk should begin screening. Men who are at high risk of prostate cancer should begin screening at age 45. Men with a close relative diagnosed with prostate cancer should consider annual screening at 40.
For men 70 years and older, the USPSTF and the CDC say potential benefits do not outweigh the expected harms and recommend that men 70 and older should not be routinely screened for prostate cancer.
Prostate Cancer Screening and Warning Signs
When you do get screened for prostate cancer, your doctor will run a few tests.
One of the tests is the PSA test, a simple blood test that screens for prostate cancer. It looks for more significant amounts of protein-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood. An elevated PSA test does not always mean you have prostate cancer. It could also reflect that your prostate is enlarged, which is common, or it could signal an infection or inflammation.
Expert Prostate Cancer Resources
- Adjusting to Your New Normal After Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
- After a Prostate Cancer Diagnosis, Here’s How to Talk To Your Urologist
- A Guide For Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer Patients
- Tools For Talking To Loved Ones About Your Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
- ‘A Profound Effect’: Treating Advanced Prostate Cancer With Hormone Therapy
- ‘Men Beating The Odds’: A Groundbreaking Film Series That Celebrates Resilience After Prostate Cancer
Your doctor may also conduct a digital rectal exam (DRE) to check your prostate for lumps.
Depending on the results of these tests, imaging scans and a biopsy may be ordered.
WATCH: How Gleason Grade Determines Treatment
Prostate cancer does not always behave the same in every man it impacts. The cancer can be considered “low-risk” and can be slow-growing, and treatment might not be necessary. In other men, the cancer may grow faster or more aggressively, requiring more immediate treatment. Because of this, there is some debate about screening.
The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends that men at average risk between the ages of 55 and 69 years talk with their doctor about the pros and cons of prostate cancer screening.
The American Cancer Society recommends that men at age 50 who are at average risk should begin screening. Men who are at high risk of prostate cancer should begin screening at age 40. Men with a close relative diagnosed with prostate cancer should consider annual screenings in their 30s.
SurvivorNet experts suggested that men consider factors like their family history, genes, and age when deciding whether and when to screen.
Symptoms of prostate cancer may include:
- Urinating more often
- Waking up in the middle of the night to pee
- Blood in your urine
- Trouble getting an erection
- Pain or burning when you urinate
- Pain in your back, hips, thighs, or other bones
- Unexplained weight loss
- Fatigue
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.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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