Image Credit: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
Ian McKellen revealed a battle with prostate cancer in 2012.
He revealed that he’d fought cancer for six or seven years in his first announcement.
Ian has continued acting, and he seems to be very healthy over a decade after the initial announcement.
Sir Ian McKellen is one of the most revered actors of all-time. Whether he’s performing plays by William Shakespeare or appearing as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, he’s continually been celebrated for his performances. While he’s had a magnificent career, the 83-year-old actor did have a struggle with cancer, beginning in 2012. The actor revealed that he’d been diagnosed with the disease. Over a decade after the diagnosis, he seems to have made a recovery and he hasn’t shied away from speaking about his battle with the disease. Find out more about his health here.
Ian McKellen Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer
Ian McKellen revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer in 2012. (David Fisher/Shutterstock)
While it’s not clear when exactly Ian McKellen was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He first revealed that he had the disease in a 2012 interview with Daily Mirror. At the time, he revealed he was having some difficulties hearing and troubles with cataracts, but the most shocking reveal was his cancer diagnosis, which he said he’d had for some years at that point. “When you have got it you monitor it and you have to be careful it doesn’t spread. But if it is contained in the prostate it’s no big deal,” he told the outlet. “Many, many men die from it but it’s one of the cancers that is totally treatable so I have ‘waitful watching’. I am examined regularly and it’s just contained, it’s not spreading. I’ve not had any treatment.”
In that interview, he opened up about how lucky he was to have caught it when he did. “You do gulp when you hear the news. It’s like when you go for an HIV test, you go ‘arghhh is this the end of the road?’” he said. “I have heard of people dying from prostate cancer, and they are the unlucky ones, the people who didn’t know they had got it and it went on the rampage. But at my age, if it is diagnosed it’s not life-threatening.”
What Is Prostate Cancer?
The prostate is a gland in males that helps in the transportation of sperm. Like other forms of cancer, it occurs when cells grow uncontrollably in the gland. As Ian mentioned, it can be treated or okay if it remains confined to the prostate, but it can spread quickly, according to the Mayo Clinic. Some symptoms of prostate cancer include trouble urinating, blood in urine or semen, erectile dysfunction, and more. It’s most common after age 50. Ian also revealed that one of his first signs of trouble was when he had more frequent than normal trips to the bathroom.
How Long Has Ian McKellen Been Sick?
In the 2012 interview, Ian revealed that he’d been diagnosed six or seven years prior, meaning he learned of his cancer in either 2005 or 2006. At 83, he seems to have had the disease for 17 years, but he hasn’t spoken about it much in the years since his first reveal. It’s not clear if he’s undergone treatment or had any newer complications since he first revealed his diagnosis in 2012.
How Is Ian McKellen Doing Today?
While Ian has not spoken about his cancer diagnosis since the news first broke, The Lord of the Rings star admitted that he still feels very happy to get onstage and perform live in a Sep. 2021 interview with This Morning. “I just go on and I feel I’m 20, and somehow the spirit comes through,” he said. “I’m a much better actor than I used to be.”
