Former BBC star Giles Coren shares shock cancer diagnosis at 55
Times restaurant critic Giles Coren has revealed he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, making the shock announcement on Friday afternoon.
The 55-year-old food critic, who has held his position at the Times since 2002, learned of his diagnosis at “bang on 9.30am” on Wednesday.
The former BBC presenter, known for his work on Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby, shared the news in his Times column.
His revelation comes just one day after prostate cancer was announced as the most common type of cancer in the UK, having risen 25 per cent in the last five years to overtake breast cancer.
Coren revealed he first got tested a couple of years ago after being influenced by celebrities Stephen Fry and Bill Turnbull, who had both announced their own diagnoses with the disease.
His initial test returned a score of 4, with scores higher than 2.5 considered “abnormal and facing imminent death”.
However, his doctor provided some reassurance, describing prostate cancer as a “slow cancer” which “all men get” if they live long enough.
Despite this explanation, the doctor recommended an MRI scan as a precautionary measure.
The critic’s test scores later increased from 4 to 6, and then to 7.
After initially refusing a biopsy when his MRI scan results were inconclusive, Coren later agreed to undergo an examination at the Royal Free Hospital in North London.
Doctors discovered less than a millimetre of cancer in just three of the 21 samples provided by the critic.
His condition was described as a “malign tumour” by medical professionals.
Coren was informed that his cancer would not require immediate treatment but would be monitored for growth.
According to Cancer Research, prostate cancer now accounts for more than 55,000 cases diagnosed in the UK each year between 2017 and 2019.
This equates to approximately 150 new cases every day across the country.
The disease represents 28 per cent of all UK cancer cases in males and 14 per cent of cancer cases overall.
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Cancer Research data shows the condition is most prevalent in males aged 75 to 79.
About a third of all cases are diagnosed in males aged over 75.