Comedian and former Taskmaster star Richard Herring has revealed that he has been diagnosed with cancer for the second time, this time with an incurable form of blood cancer. The 58-year-old shared the news with his subscribers on Substack, delivering the update with his characteristic dark humour.
Second Cancer Diagnosis
Herring, who previously battled testicular cancer, announced that he now has hairy cell leukaemia, a rare type of blood cancer. In his post, he wrote: "Let me give you the bad news first. I have cancer again. Not ball cancer this time, I can’t afford to lose another one of those. This time I have blood cancer. And God is determined to make sure I get the funniest cancers possible and this one is called hairy cell leukaemia. The other bad news is that it is incurable."
Treatable Despite Being Incurable
However, Herring quickly reassured fans that the cancer is treatable and not immediately life-threatening. "The good news is that it’s entirely treatable and will not kill me (the treatment has a tiny chance of killing me, but so has loading the dishwasher, so don’t worry about it)," he wrote. He added that he plans to use his diagnosis for comedic effect, joking about setting up a JustGiving page with a sad face and hugging his children.
Long Road to Diagnosis
Herring explained that the diagnosis took years to confirm. Doctors first detected a few abnormal cells in his bone marrow about 12 years ago, but the condition did not worsen. After five years of monitoring, doctors told him it was likely benign. He had "sort of forgotten about it" until recent check-ups revealed the cancer had developed.
Treatment and Outlook
The comedian described his first day of chemotherapy and praised the NHS for its care, assuring fans that there were "no immediate problems." Despite the incurable nature of the disease, Herring remains optimistic and humorous about his situation.
Career Highlights
Richard Herring is best known for his stand-up comedy and his victory in the tenth series of Taskmaster in 2020. He also won the subsequent Champion of Champions special that same year, competing against Ed Gamble, Kerry Godliman, Liza Tarbuck, and Lou Sanders.
