Comedian and former Taskmaster star Richard Herring has revealed to his followers on Substack that he has been diagnosed with cancer for a second time. The star said it is not in his testicles this time, but this occasion it is "incurable".
Second Cancer Diagnosis
"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 (though I will be doing my show 'The Male Eunuch' if it does happen)," he disclosed to his subscribers on the writers' publishing platform.
"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 but Incurable
He then clarified that the cancer is actually treatable, though he will live with it for the rest of his life. "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)."
"I will of course be using the fact that I have incurable cancer for all it's worth for the rest of my (hopefully long) life. I can get out of doing other people's podcasts, any social event I don't fancy and also set up a justgiving page with me with a sad face, hugging my kids and asking for money to help them once I'm gone."
"Ha ha ha. It's not even a scam. It's all true. I just won't mention that fact that it's treatable."
Long Diagnosis Process
He revealed that receiving his cancer diagnosis this time around was a lengthy process: "They found a few of the cells in my bone marrow about 12 years ago, but it didn't get any worse and after five years of being tested the doctor said it was probably going to be OK."
He went on to say that he'd "sort of forgotten about it" until he had conversations with the doctors. Richard outlined his initial day of chemotherapy and his encounters with the NHS throughout the remainder of his upbeat post, reassuring supporters there "were no immediate problems."
Career Highlights
The comedian is most recognised for his stand-up performances and in 2020, he participated in and triumphed in the tenth series of Taskmaster. He later battled against Ed Gamble, Kerry Godliman, Liza Tarbuck and Lou Sanders in the second "Champion of Champions" special, which he also claimed victory in during the same year.
He has devised, written and starred in fourteen solo shows, and co-created the sitcom Time Gentlemen Please. Richard also has over 10,000 followers on Substack where he frequently publishes content and personal updates, including this latest health revelation.
The entertainer has also featured on numerous other television programmes including Have I Got News For You, and this year appeared in The Great Celebrity Pottery Throwdown.
No Link to Previous Cancer
At the conclusion of his Substack piece, Richard confirmed the blood cancer and his earlier testicular cancer bore no relation to each other: "It's not linked to the testicular cancer. Someone up there just doesn't like me. But they don't hate me that much. So keep giving me the flimsiest and easiest to live with and funniest named cancers available."
"To have one cancer elicits sympathy, but getting two starts to look a bit like attention-seeking. At least get a properly dangerous one if you're going to make a big deal about it. I feel a bit embarrassed about it."
