Jeremy Clarkson Reveals His Battle with Cancer
Jeremy Clarkson, a well-known host of the BBC show Top Gear, has shared his personal journey with an aggressive form of cancer. The 66-year-old television presenter disclosed this news during the latest episode of his Amazon series, Clarkson’s Farm. The revelation came while he was sitting with farmworkers Kaleb Cooper and Charlie Ireland discussing the timing of the property’s next harvests.
During the conversation in episode seven of the fifth season, Clarkson suddenly announced, “I’ve got cancer.” Cooper, taken aback, responded, “No, you haven’t. Where?”
“Where it is is of no concern to anybody. I’ve known since May,” Clarkson replied, as Cooper wiped away tears. He explained that he had undergone a medical check-up back in May and had a biopsy done. “It is cancer, and it’s aggressive, but it’s really early, so the treatment will be, you know.”
Clarkson expressed his hope to complete the harvest before starting his treatment. “I’m praying we could get the harvest done and then I could go and get some treatment, but it’s going to be slap bang in the middle.”
Cooper quickly reassured Clarkson, saying, “Look after yourself.”
Clarkson then revealed that he was scheduled to have surgery. “It’s going to be in about two weeks, maybe three,” he said. “I’ll have to go and have an operation … then [I’ll be] slightly out of action for a little while.”
About halfway through the final episode, Clarkson shared that he had undergone a procedure to remove part of his prostate following the diagnosis. When Cooper asked how the operation went and whether he felt better, Clarkson replied that it went well, and he feels “strong.”
“I won’t know whether it has worked or not until November, probably … they [did] blood tests and things. You know, the prostate, 10 per cent of it is dead. The 10 per cent with cancer in it.
“They used an ultrasound – have you ever got a magnifying glass on a piece of paper on a sunny day? You can make that little spot … they get the sound waves and then direct them onto the cancer and blitz it.”
At the end of the season finale, Clarkson addressed viewers from the hospital bed. “We started season five with me in a hospital bed, and here we are at the end of season five, and I’m back in a hospital bed,” he said.
“Some of the treatments have gone a bit awry, let’s say. So I am going to be here for a little while … I’m nil by mouth, yeah, I don’t know what’s going to happen … What I wanted to say was, if this is all successful, I will see you in season 6, and if it isn’t, I won’t.
“Take care, everyone.”
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