Rhod Gilbert reflects on “positive” cancer experience: “I am gorging on life”

Rhod Gilbert has explained why he views his recent cancer battle as a “positive” experience.

The Welsh comedian announced that he was diagnosed with stage four head and neck cancer back in July 2022, before undergoing a year of successful treatment.

In his new stand-up show, Rhod Gilbert And The Giant Grapefruit, which is currently touring, the comedian speaks about his experience of finding the cancerous lump and the journey that came after – it has also been the subject of a Channel 4 documentary, A Pain In The Neck.

Speaking to The Times, he said he ends his shows by explaining that his cancer experience has left him “gorging on life”.

“In the end I thought I’d say, ‘I’m not sorry that I got cancer.’” he said. “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. That doesn’t mean I want it back. But I am just gorging on life.”

Gilbert lost two and a half stone in the year he suffered from the disease, and although he has recovered, he is still required to have regular medical check-ups every eight weeks, with his chances of a relapse apparently being like “Russian roulette”.

“I have hated the sound of the alarm clock my entire life. Now I go, ‘Hooray, here comes another day.’” he said.

“I’ve got it to thank for where I’ve got to in my career. It’s still early days for me. But I think I’m a different person. I’m still anxious and all the things you’ve seen from me on stage. But everything has suddenly clicked into shape. I know what I want from life.”

He continued: “And now in my stand-up, in the talking to people after the show, I feel like there’s an element of that caring. I’ve found my little calling. So, happy days. Cancer has given me that.”

Gilbert said that he now stays an hour after his shows to interact with audience members who have often gone through similar experiences.

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

The comedian also revealed that he was unaware that his wife and actor Sian Harries had feared becoming a widow until he saw her sharing her experience in the Channel 4 documentary.

“That hit me quite hard, you saying that. Because so much of it had been all about me,” he told her in the interview.

To which she replied: “I didn’t want to burden you. But thankfully we weren’t in it for long. It’s made us reconsider things. We don’t sweat the small stuff.”

Gilbert made his return to stand-up comedy in May 2023, saying at the time: “It’s lovely to be alive and lovely to be back on tour.”

Rhod Gilbert And The Giant Grapefruit is touring from June 2024 through to November 2025.

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