Billy Connolly, 81, makes candid death admission as he opens up on health battle: 'It isn't a big thing'
Billy Connolly has reflected on his health 11 years on from being diagnosed with Parkinson's
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Over a decade on from his Parkinson's diagnosis, comedian Billy Connolly has spoken out in a rare interview about how his battle is going.
The 81-year-old received the diagnosis 11 years ago in 2013 - at the same time he was told he had prostate cancer.
In recent years after marking a decade of living with Parkinson's, Connolly has spent much of his life out of the public eye.
He has provided a health update already this year, however, saying in February that he still finds it "strange" living with the illness and that it's made him feel "out of step".
In a new interview this week, Connolly provided a fresh insight into his life with the illness, while also reflecting on his newfound attitude toward the inevitability of death.
"It was a funny week I had," Connolly began as he reminisced on receiving the diagnosis. "On the Monday, I had hearing aids...
Billy Connolly is one of the UK's best-loved comedians
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"On the Tuesday I got pills for heartburn, which I have to take all the time, and on the Wednesday I got news that I had prostate cancer and Parkinson's.
"The doctors told me on the phone, ‘Look we have had the results and it is cancer.’ I said ‘Oh, nobody has ever said that to be me before’."
Connolly went on to tell the Mirror that his wife Pamela understandably became emotional and planted a hug on the comedian.
However, Connolly admitted that despite the bombshell diagnosis, he wasn't "unduly worried".
Billy Connolly was also diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013
PAInstead, in his head, Connolly was already piecing together way to make jokes about the illness, declaring it "easy" to poke fun at the situation.
Delving into his approach to coming to terms with the illness and its repercussions, he added to the publication: "You just have to think, ‘Don't think you are being badly treated (in life) or you have the bad pick of the straws. You are one of millions’.
"Just behave yourself and relax. You then realise (death) is not the big thing everyone has made it out to be.
"It is nothing. It is just a sudden nothing," he said.
Connolly was given the all-clear for his prostate cancer diagnosis following treatment for the illness.
However, Parkinson's remains an incurable illness that affects roughly 1 in every 500 people.
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Billy Connolly has won several awards for his comedy work over the years
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Connolly returns to screens soon as part of a BBC documentary reflecting on his life.
Billy Connolly: In My Own Words will be available to watch on BBC One and iPlayer at 10:40pm on Monday, September 2.
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