BBC Radio star Bill Buckley has revealed that he has received treatment for prostate cancer. The presenter, 67, has worked in broadcasting for over 40 years and currently hosts lunchtime and afternoon shows on BBC Radio Berkshire. He has also featured on television hits like That's Life alongside Dame Esther Rantzen and Holiday over the years.
Experimental HIFU treatment
On Tuesday, the presenter revealed that he had undergone a new treatment known as High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), which uses sound waves to create heat that destroys cancer cells. He is one of a handful of people to have done so.
He told the BBC: "The nurse, as I was leaving - I was literally opening the door - said 'oh by the way, and you do know you have prostate cancer don't you?'"
"I'm one of the very tiny number of people so far who have had this wonderful treatment... and I couldn't have had it if I had been discovered to have cancer late. So that old message that people keep banging on about cannot be said too often - go for the regular checks."
First symptoms and diagnosis
Bill noted that one of the first symptoms appeared in his leg, and described it as "one of the biggest blood clots, the biggest deep vein thromboses, that [medics] had ever seen." Following an ultrasound, he was prescribed blood thinners and wrongly assumed he was in the clear.
He added: "I thought 'I'm out of the woods, this is marvellous. She was a lovely nurse, and I don't blame her for saying it that way because I think she absolutely assumed 100% that I did know this, but it had been picked up in the various tests. Suddenly my world crashed back down again."
What followed was rounds of HIFU treatment at Wexham Park Hospital, near Slough. He admitted that he just felt "blessed" to have been in the "right postcode" to have received the treatment.
Fellow presenter Bob Harris also undergoing treatment
The news comes just days after Bill's fellow radio presenter Bob Harris, who has also made a career out of presenting at the BBC, spoke to his fans about undergoing treatment for the same disease.
The country music fan told his fans: "It’s impossible for me to even begin to explain how much I am missing @bbcradio2 going on air and creating programmes for you. I miss my friends, I miss the studios and more than anything, I miss my listeners. But having to step back, after years and years of being busy, I have rediscovered something very special in my life - TIME.
"Time to spend with my wonderful family and lovely friends... Time to be creative and explore new ideas. And time to just sit in the garden with my cats… a time to reflect how fortunate and blessed I am to be still here to enjoy it all."
Bob continued: "I am having to accept that I am a slightly different version of myself now. I don’t have the stamina of before. But my cancer treatment is going well, my belief in positive thinking has been reinforced and I am embracing this opportunity to let time slow down."
