Sir Ian McKellen Reveals Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

Actor Sir Ian McKellen, who will return to the big screen with “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” has been battling prostate cancer for six or seven years, he says in a recent interview cited by The Mirror.

A journalist for the British tab sat down with the star as part of the promo trailer for “The Hobbit,” and got him to open up and, apparently, reveal a secret he’s been guarding for quite a long time.

“I’ve had prostate cancer for six or seven years,” McKellen says. However, he insists, in his case, it’s nothing to worry about, as long as he keeps getting regular checkups.

“When you have got it you monitor it and you have to be careful it doesn’t spread. But if it is contained in the prostate it’s no big deal,” the actor says.

“Many, many men die from it but it’s one of the cancers that is totally treatable so I have ‘waitful watching’. I am examined regularly and it’s just contained, it’s not spreading. I’ve not had any treatment,” he continues.

Even though he’s now optimistic about his health, McKellen admits that hearing the diagnosis was pretty shocking, fearing this was really the end for him.

He soon found out that this was not the case: because the diagnosis had been made early on, he found out that the cancer could be contained, so he didn’t require surgery or specific treatment.

“I have heard of people dying from prostate cancer, and they are the unlucky ones, the people who didn’t know they had got it and it went on the rampage. But at my age if it is diagnosed it’s not life threatening,” the iconic actor says.

In the same interview, Sir Ian McKellen talks about his deteriorating health (but with a wink and a smile), how he stays in top shape with Pilates and by moving around as much as possible, and, of course, “The Hobbit.”

For the full interview, please refer here.