Published Jan 20, 2021

Nothing Stops Prostate Cancer Survivor Elton John, 73, as He Talks Post-COVID Tour & Empowering New Musicians

In support of emerging artists and established ones, legendary British singer Elton John is asking that musicians be granted leniency in performance travel. The prostate cancer survivor is looking ahead to post-COVID days when he can safely tour again.

Anne McCarthy

Details

Elton's Plea

Prostate cancer survivor Elton John, 73, wants to be able to travel freely for touring post-COVID and post-Brexit, and is calling for the government to make it easier for British musicians to tour.
The British icon was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017 and beat the disease following surgery.
PSA (prostate specific antigen) tests are the screening method for prostate cancer, and men with a history of prostate cancer in their family should be especially vigilant about screening for this disease.

When the world opens up again Elton John, 73, wants to be able to tour without restrictions, and he’s hoping officials making those decisions are listening. Since beating prostate cancer in 2017, Elton has been unstoppable, and prolific.

With Brexit and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, daily life has been upended, especially for those living in the UK who are coping with the new ramifications of Brexit, like reduced free movement. Elton is calling for change for himself, and for other British artists. He took to Instagram and wrote: “I have added my name to a letter urging the UK government to fulfill its promise to negotiate permit and paperwork-free travel in Europe for British artists, their road crew and equipment. The touring industry has already been hit hard by the COVID pandemic and without visa-free travel, many tours will be unviable, especially for emerging artists.”

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Elton’s Cancer Battle

In 2017, Elton was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and had surgery to treat his disease. Common treatments for prostate cancer include radiation, surgery, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy. Elton was a force of nature, per usual, and didn’t let cancer slow him down. In fact, he even wore a diaper onstage in 2017 at a show in Las Vegas after his prostate surgery, as he hadn’t yet regained full control of his bladder.

Dr. Stephen Freedland, a Urologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, spoke in a previous interview about this type of surgery. He said, "It's typically done through a robotic technique today, at least in the United States. A lot of patients are still getting open surgery. Depending on the surgeon, it may be two, three, four, five hours somewhere in that range, usually spend one night in the hospital."

An Overview of Prostate Cancer Surgery

PSA Tests

Prostate cancer is typically detected via PSA prostate specific antigen test. This type of blood test looks for PSA in the bloodstream, and the presence of it may indicate cancer. In an earlier interview, Dr. James Brooks, a Urologic Oncologist at Stanford Medicine said of the PSA test, "Current guidelines are to start screening at age 55 and continue screening through age 70. The reason for that is prostate cancer diagnosed after age 70 has a reasonably low probability it's going to take your life because prostate cancer, even in its aggressive forms, when it's localized is a relatively slow-growing cancer."

Dr. David Wise said in an earlier interview to consider risk factor, too, when it comes to screening. “Men who are at high risk because of a family history should have PSA testing earlier,” said Dr. Wise. “At latest, age 40, but probably even by age 35, they should have an initial PSA. That PSA test at a younger age, it's a more accurate test because the prostate has not increased in size, which can cause the test to be more difficult to interpret."

The PSA Blood Test and a Rectal Exam are Vital for Prostate Cancer Screening

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