Duran Duran star Andy Taylor shares rare health update amid 8-year prostate cancer battle
Duran Duran members Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Simon le Bon, Andy Taylor and Roger Taylor
PA
Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor kept his prostate cancer diagnosis a secret from the public and his bandmates for years after being diagnosed.
The musician eventually went public with his diagnosis in 2022 with his bandmates delivering the news at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in LA.
In a letter penned by Taylor and read aloud by bandmate Simon Le Bon at the time, he said: "Just over four years ago I was diagnosed with stage four metastatic prostate cancer.
"Many families have experienced the slow burn of this disease and of course, we are no different.
"None of this needs to or should detract from what this band has achieved and sustained for 44 years. I’m so very proud of these four brothers."
Taylor's personal battle with the disease has led to him seeking treatment via nuclear medicine and on Friday, August 11, he opened up about the ordeal during a rare television appearance.
Andy Taylor (second from left) alongside his bandmates
PA
Explaining why he wasn't at the band's induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, he said: "I wasn't there because I've had stage four prostate cancer for around about eight years,
"And it caught up with me quite badly around about last September."
He continued: "As hard as I tried and all the preparation I made, when you do something like the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame - which is basically like getting knighted for a guitar player - you've kind of got to be on 11, you can't saunter in.
"And I couldn't really stand up and play and I kind of had to deal with the denial.
"It was sad," Taylor admitted before revealing: "I hadn't told the guys, no one knew. No one really knew, just the family and a few friends.
"Once it goes public, I knew it would be fairly sort of extensive.
"I could've picked a quieter moment for it to go public," he said with a chuckle before he explained: "But I didn't want to make a fool of the band and just be on half and not be able to do this."
He admitted he feels in a "better place" since going public with his diagnosis before adding: "It lifts a lot of pressure off."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Andy Taylor appeared on BBC Breakfast
BBC
Taylor claimed he was on a self-proclaimed "blacklist" before a scientist got in touch with a new treatment involving nuclear medicine which "kills stage four cancer" and has "extended my life by five years".
He added to Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt on BBC Breakfast: "I had to get in very good shape to have this treatment, so I really took care of myself in a different way.
"And then after the first round of treatment, I said, 'If I'm okay and you guys say I'm okay and you do your blood tests and that, is it okay to start work again? Sort of light work, to get out?'
"I don't want to be a patient stuck here, I want to be a working patient," Taylor insisted as he added: "A little beacon of hope because this stuff just drags you...
"Cancer just drags you down into the darkness and your family, and I can work as a patient."
Taylor revealed he is indeed back at work recording new music amid his ongoing treatments.
You may like
