Rhod Gilbert reveals 'I'm not sorry I got cancer' 

Virgin Radio

13 Jun 2024, 14:22

Rhod Gilbert is “gorging on life” following his cancer journey, which he sees overall as a “positive thing.”

The Welsh comic was diagnosed with stage four head and neck cancer in 2022, but after having many radiotherapy sessions and two rounds of chemotherapy, has since been told he is now cancer free.

Speaking with The Times about his new stand up tour - Rhod Gilbert and the Giant Grapefruit - which is inspired by his cancer journey, the TV star explained how he worked hard to find a sensitive way to express his thanks for the journey cancer made him go on.

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Deciding against saying he was glad he had cancer, “in the end I thought I’d say, ‘I’m not sorry that I got cancer,” the comedian admitted. “I feel guilty saying this because of what my wife has been through - we just lost her dad to cancer as well, so it’s been a living hell for her. 

“But for me it is a positive thing,” he continued. “That doesn’t mean I want it back. But I am just gorging on life.”

Revealing how his show came together, the comedian said: “I didn’t write anything while I was ill… Then once I had my gallbladder out I started writing, and it flew. I’ve never done anything so quickly. I was very aware of the ironies of what I had been through.”

Getting the balance right in writing comedy out of his cancer experience while knowing so many of his audience would likely have personal stories associated with cancer was “a tricky one to walk.”

But Gilbert has found that audiences react positively to his humorous and biting take on the subject. “I’ve had people say, ‘I lost my kid to cancer a few years ago, I’m finally able to laugh.’ It’s mad, it’s great,” he shared.

With that being said: “I’m apprehensive. I don’t want to offend anyone. I’m very aware there are people who are going through what I’ve survived, seemingly, at the moment,” he said.

And on that subject of his cancer, he added: “With head and neck cancer the chances of it coming back are way higher than I would like, and that’s the wording I use on stage. I’d love them to be millions to one or thousands to one, but they’re closer to Russian roulette.”

Rhod Gilbert on the Giant Grapefruit is currently touring the UK.