Former BBC Breakfast show presenter Bill Turnbull has tragically passed away after a five year battle with cancer.
The 66-year-old Classic FM presenter was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer in 2017 and had been receiving care from the Royal Marsden and Ipswich Hospitals, St Elizabeth Hospice and his GP.
In a statement, the presenter's family said: “He was resolutely positive and was hugely buoyed by the support he received from friends, colleagues, and messages from people wishing him luck. It was a great comfort to Bill that so many more men are now testing earlier for this disease.
“Bill will be remembered by many as a remarkable broadcaster who brought warmth and humour into people’s homes on BBC Breakfast and Classic FM.
The presenter leaves behind a wife and three children and the family added: "Bill was a wonderful husband and father to his three children; his family and friends will miss how he always made them laugh, and the generosity and love he shared with those around him.”
Prior to his tragic death, Bill had spent time urging others to get checked for the symptoms of prostate cancer, here's what his first symptoms were.
What were Bill Turnbull's early cancer symptoms?
Bill had previously opened up about how he ignored his first early symptoms of prostate cancer, which he said were "aches and pains that didn't go away."
In an interview on Morning Live he said: "I didn't get checked which is why I'm in the situation I'm in now,"
"and we were working out the other day; the first symptoms were maybe six months, eight months before I got diagnosed, with aches and pains that didn't go away.
"And actually there were other warning signs in the previous years as well that I should have paid attention to."
He also told Channel 4 that he hadn't been to a GP in four years and said: "I was getting pains in my legs and my hips particularly, and they would come and go and I thought 'this is old age'"
When the pains worsened, Bill finally went to see his GP, where he underwent blood tests and was soon given the heartbreaking news that he had advanced prostate cancer, which had spread to the bone.
After his diagnosis, he urged others not to make the same mistake as him and to get checked as soon as possible, adding: "Men don't want to go to the doctors, as simple as that.
"I didn't want to go to the doctor. Now I'm going to the doctor all the time. They all know me on a first name basis."
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?
The symptoms of prostate cancer can include:
- Pain in the back, hip or pelvis
- Blood in the urine or semen
- Difficulty in starting to pee or taking a long time
- Needing to pee more frequently and feeling that your bladder isn't empty
- Pain in the testicles
- Unintentional weight loss
You are unlikely to experience very early signs of prostate cancer unless the cancer grows against the tube you urinate from, so it's important to get checked as soon as you can.
However, these symptoms don't always mean prostate cancer, many of them can also be symptoms of non-cancerous benign prostate enlargement, but you should still see a doctor just in case.
