LONDON (AP) \u2014 British pop star Cliff Richard said Monday he has been given the all-clear after treatment for prostate cancer.<\/b>
\nBritish pop star Cliff Richard said Monday he has been given the all-clear after treatment for prostate cancer.
The 85-year-old singer joined calls for Britain to introduce a national screening program for the disease.
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Richard told \u201cGood Morning Britain\u201d that he was diagnosed a year ago after a health check for his insurance before a tour to Australia and New Zealand.
He said \u201cthe good fortune was that it was not very old, and the other thing is that it has not metastasized.\u201d
Richard said the treatment was successful, but \u201cI don\u2019t know whether it\u2019s going to come back.\u201d
He said it was \u201cabsolutely ridiculous\u201d that Britain does not have a wide prostate cancer testing program. The state-funded National Health Service currently offers routine screening for breast, bowel and cervical cancer.
The U.K. National Screening Committee has recommended a targeted prostate cancer screening program for men with a genetic mutation that puts them at higher risk. Several high-profile figures who have been treated for prostate cancer have called for a wider screening effort, including cyclist Chris Hoy and former Prime Minister David Cameron.
Richard came to fame in the 1950s and has had U.K. chart hits across seven decades, including \u201cSummer Holiday,\u201d \u201cThe Young Ones\u201d and \u201cWe Don\u2019t Talk Anymore.\u201d
His intervention follows a call by King Charles III for people to get screened for cancer. The king, who announced in February 2024 that he had an undisclosed form of cancer, said early diagnosis and treatment will allow doctors to reduce his treatment in the new year.
\u201cEarly diagnosis quite simply saves lives,\u201d the king said in a video message broadcast Friday.<\/p>\n