Jamie Theakston has revealed he is cancer free after a four-month ordeal that saw doctors inform him he had a “one in 10 chance” of survival.
In September 2024, the Heart Radio presenter was diagnosed with the disease after going for a check up, prompted by listeners noticing his voice sounded different on the air.
In a statement shared online, Theakston, 53, told his fans that a biopsy identified Stage 1 laryngeal cancer after he underwent an operation to remove a lesion from his vocal cords.
Now, four months later, he told his listeners: “Today is the four-month anniversary of my cancer diagnosis. So it’s been four months, and I’ve had enough of hospitals and operations, and it’s just lovely to be back, and I’ve got some news for you. Because I can tell you that as of today, I’m cancer free.”
Theakston, who presents the station’s breakfast show on weekdays with Amanda Holden, continued: “Anyone who’s been through what I’ve been through will know it’s kind of you just get a barrage of statistics.”
He then opened up about his experience, breaking down what he was told by doctors while undergoing three surgeries.
“So they’ll always tell you in the first one, when I got my diagnosis which came as an enormous shock, by the way, I was fully intended to be told that I had a sore throat.
‘And when I was told, ‘Oh, it’s probably cancer,’ just, literally, I just didn’t even know what to say. I mean, it just blew my mind. And so then it’s all about statistics. So the first is go, ‘Well, you’ll have a one in 10 chance you won’t survive it.’
‘And you kind of go, ‘Oh OK, I’ll take that.’ And then I had to do several surgeries. So, the first surgery wasn’t as successful as we hoped. Had a second surgery, and then a third surgery, and each time, I was doing more and more damage to my vocal cords.
‘So, in actual fact, by the third one, they said, ‘Well, look, you’ve got a one in six chance you might not be able to talk again.’
“And so, then you kind of think, ‘Oh, OK, that’s like rolling a dice,’ yeah, I’ll take that. And so, there’s just a kind of, it’s just statistics after statistics.”
Since being diagnosed with cancer, Theakston had three surgeries and four months of vocal therapy.
He told his Instagram followers: “Nice try cancer, but I’m still here! CANCER FREE.”
His wife, Sophie Theakston, replied: Can’t believe this day has finally come. We prayed it would... Just so proud of you darling.”
According to the NHS, symptoms of laryngeal cancer include a change in your voice, such as sounding hoarse, pain when swallowing, a lump or swelling in your neck, a long-lasting cough or breathlessness, a persistent sore throat or earache and in the most severe cases, difficulty breathing.
In the UK, there are more than 2,000 new cases of laryngeal cancer each year. The condition is more common in people over the age of 60, and it’s more common in men than women.
The TV presenter began his career presenting Top of the Pops between 1998 and 2003, before moving to Heart Radio in 2005 to present its flagship breakfast show.
