Rhod Gilbert has explained why he views his experience with cancer as a “positive thing”.
The 55-year-old Welsh comedian first announced that he was diagnosed with stage four head and neck cancer in July 2022 and underwent a year of successful treatment.
But although he says the odds of the illness coming back are like “Russian roulette”, he would like to appreciate the lessons he has gained from the ordeal.
Currently touring for his stand-up comedy show, Rhod Gilbert and the Giant Grapefruit, the TV personality chronicles his experience of finding the cancerous lump and the journey that came after – it has also been the subject of Channel 4 documentary, A Pain in the Neck.
At first he says he considered finishing his shows by saying he was glad he had cancer, he told The Times in a new interview.
“But in the end I thought I’d say, ‘I’m not sorry that I got cancer.’” he said. “I feel guilty saying this because of what my wife has been through — we just lost her dad to cancer as well, so it’s been a living hell for her. But for me it is a positive thing. That doesn’t mean I want it back. But I am just gorging on life.”
The Would I Lie to You panellist lost two and a half stone in the year he suffered from the disease, and although he has recovered, he is still required to have regular medical check-ups every eight weeks.
“I have hated the sound of the alarm clock my entire life. Now I go, ‘Hooray, here comes another day.’” he said.
“I’ve got it to thank for where I’ve got to in my career. It’s still early days for me. But I think I’m a different person. I’m still anxious and all the things you’ve seen from me on stage. But everything has suddenly clicked into shape. I know what I want from life.”
He continued: “And now in my stand-up, in the talking to people after the show, I feel like there’s an element of that caring. I’ve found my little calling. So, happy days. Cancer has given me that.”
Gilbert revealed that he has found some purpose as he stays an hour after his shows to interact with his audience who have often gone through similar experiences. The comedian has been at pains to ensure the show isn’t “mawkish” or “didactic”.
“I’m apprehensive. I don’t want to offend anyone. I’m very aware there are people who are going through what I’ve survived, seemingly, at the moment.”
The star also revealed that he hadn’t been aware his wife and actor Sian Harries, had feared becoming a widow until he saw her sharing her experience on the Channel 4 documentary.
“That hit me quite hard, you saying that. Because so much of it had been all about me,” he told her in the interview.
To which she replied, “I didn’t want to burden you. But thankfully we weren’t in it for long. It’s made us reconsider things. We don’t sweat the small stuff.”
Rhod Gilbert and the Giant Grapefruit is touring from June 2024 through to November 2025,
