BBC Breakfast presenters Sally Nugent and Jon Kay opened up about a personal story on Tuesday’s show
BBC Breakfast presenters Sally Nugent and Jon Kay delivered some devastating cancer news during Tuesday’s programme. Prior to chatting with guest Johnny Nelson about his father, who died from prostate cancer, they addressed Sir Chris Hoy’s recent diagnosis.
Sir Chris Hoy revealed earlier this year that he had been diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer and that the condition was terminal.
The duo also aired footage of specialists discussing innovative prostate cancer screening methods, which aim to identify early warning signs of the illness and could potentially “save thousands of lives”.
Following the segment, Jon Kay remarked, “Let’s talk further about this. Shall we be joined on the sofa by David James from Prostate Cancer Research, the charity that’s released this report, and with him is former world champion boxer Johnny Nelson, who’s been campaigning to raise awareness of prostate cancer, for you’ve got your own reasons.”
Revealing his own devastating experience, Johnny explained, “My father passed away from prostate cancer earlier this year, and you know what? He came to England in the late 1950s, and he had that old-school mentality,” reports the Express.
“And you hear the horror stories about finger up the bum, but you’ve got to have these uncomfortable conversations, and guys have to feel comfortable having the conversation.
“And he wouldn’t go there. Wouldn’t do it. As my father passed, there was a group of me and my friends, and we talked about it, obviously, the grief and the sadness, and the guys decided to start getting screened.
“Two of them discovered they were diagnosed with prostate cancer, and so it’s just having the awareness and the courage to say, ‘I’m going to do this. I don’t care what the stigma is’.
“Unfortunately, we as men don’t talk to each other enough to feel comfortable doing such a thing, and leaving it too late, my father is a prime example.”
He continued, “I know two… three people that were diagnosed with prostate cancer and left it too late. So I think this is so, so important.”
Further into the discussion, Johnny encouraged other men to get tested, stating, “It’s not until it hits closer to home and makes you sit up and think this is real.
“When it gets close to home, then the reality kicks in. ‘This could be me, it could be my brother’.”
Sally pondered whether men are “frightened” of getting tested, while expert David James highlighted, “And that’s the key thing about prostate cancer, is if you catch it early, the chances of survival are really, really good, but it’s when it’s caught late.
“Like, Sir Chris Hoy, for example, who, unfortunately, you know, in the time of his life, was diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer because his was caught too late.”
Before concluding the interview, Johnny emphasised that prostate cancer “is not a death sentence.”
He added, “A diagnosis of prostate cancer is not a death sentence, and that is the message that guys need to understand, so don’t bury your head in the sand.”
BBC Breakfast is broadcast daily at 6am on BBC One.
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