Former England and Liverpool footballer John Barnes, 62, appeared on Wednesday's Good Morning Britain to share a health update after his prostate cancer diagnosis. He revealed that he never intended for his diagnosis to become public, but has since urged other men to get checked.
Accidental Disclosure
Barnes explained that his diagnosis came to light accidentally during a media day for the World Cup a few weeks ago. He said: "I was in a studio with these two women and it was the time the diagnosis came out about Kenny Dalglish and Kevin Keegan. In the interview, they'd said, 'so what about this cancer?' and it wasn't prostate cancer with those, and I thought they were talking about me."
He continued: "I didn't think... I didn't go, how do you know about that? I just went, I've had it for four years and had the operation and I'm all-clear now and I had my prostate out and everything is fine. And they never looked shocked so I thought they must be talking about me, so I continued, until after the show... obviously they were talking about me."
Four-Year Battle
Barnes revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer about four years ago. He kept the news private to protect his elderly mother, who lived in Jamaica and was in her 80s. His father had died of prostate cancer. "We didn't want my mother to know so we never said anything, we didn't want her to worry about her baby son. Her husband died of prostate cancer so we weren't going to say anything," Barnes told presenters Ranvir Singh and Ed Balls.
His mother passed away about a year ago, and Barnes said he "didn't even think about" the diagnosis until the accidental disclosure.
Urging Men to Get Checked
Despite the unintended revelation, Barnes highlighted the positive impact of sharing his story. "The impact it has had, it's been a great impact," he said. He added: "A lot of men die with prostate cancer, not from it but with it. So when they do the autopsy you have prostate cancer. It's important for us to do it, important for us to know and important for us to be less macho about it."
Barnes previously told Times Radio: "I've had prostate cancer, I've had my prostate out, not many people know and it's a bit of a taboo subject because we support women with breast cancer and it's not even an issue."
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and ITVX.
