Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor has revealed that a new “nuclear medicine” has helped extend his life expectancy by five years.
The guitarist was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer around four years ago, but only revealed the news publicly in November 2022.
At the time, Taylor’s bandmates shared the news in a letter – written by the musician – ahead of their induction to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, which he couldn’t attend.
“I missed the biggest night of my life,” he said of the occasion on BBC’s Breakfast on Friday (11 August), adding that “no one really knew [about his diagnosis] – just family and a few friends”.
Taylor explained that Professor Sir Chris Evans, founder of the Cancer Awareness Trust, reached out to him after he went public with his diagnosis to offer him “a nuclear medicine, Lutetium-177, which is targeted so it only sees cancer cells”.
“It can’t see healthy cells,” Taylor explained. “It kills stage four cancer in your bones. And so what it’s effectively done is extend my life for five years.”
Andy Taylor of Duran Duran— (ITV)
“When patients like Andy Taylor have unfortunately progressed to stage four prostate cancer with secondary metastases, particularly in the bone tissue, then treatment options are limited,” Evans told the BBC. “He’d already received some of the best medicines available and was in serious decline.
“We took a deep dive into his genetic profile and the specific genomic mutations present in his cancer. We also computed a number of other very specific biochemical and physiological pieces of Andy’s jigsaw.
“Based on everything we understood, the nuclear medicine Lutetium-177 injections were considered the best option for him.”
Taylor said he had to get into “very, very good health to have this treatment. So I really took care of myself in a different way”.
“I don’t want to be a patient stuck here. I want to be a working patient, a little beacon of hope, because this stuff – cancer – just drags you and your family down in the darkness,” he said.
The musician has been in good enough health to complete his first solo album in over 30 years, Man’s a Wolf to Man, which is set for release on 8 September.
“It’s been a hell of a journey,” he said.
