Tommy Cannon on prostate cancer diagnosis: I’m still here and doing OK

Comedian Tommy Cannon has said he was “frightened to death” when he received a prostate cancer diagnosis in his 50s but added that he is “still here, still kicking and doing OK”.

The 87-year-old is best known as being one half of duo Cannon and Ball alongside the late Bobby Ball, and the pair became household names through their eponymous ITV comedy variety show, which aired from 1979 to 1988.

The entertainer is now working with Prostate Cancer UK as he aims to raise awareness of the condition, having been on active surveillance for more than 20 years following his diagnosis.

Speaking to the Press Association, he said: “I’d heard things about cancer, and you want to be checked out and all that. And that’s what I did.

“The first time I had a blood test and a biopsy, and that was all clear.

“Then a few years later, they called me back in just to repeat the test and this time it was cancer, which absolutely frightened me to death.

“I didn’t know whether I was coming or going to be honest.”

Cannon said he later went for an MRI scan during which the machine “broke down”, which he said left him “absolutely panic ridden”, before later being referred to a specialist to discuss treatment for his condition.

The entertainer said he is currently on active surveillance, which is described by Prostate Cancer UK as a way of monitoring localised early prostate cancer through regular testing, rather than treating it straight away.

Cannon said: “Luckily for me, the levels have been under the radar for treatment for all these years. I’m now 87 and I’m feeling good.”But just a mere mention of cancer is enough to frighten anybody.”

He added: “Luckily, thank the Lord, I’m still here, still kicking and doing OK.”

Cannon told PA he decided to get checked for the condition as he was “at that age”, adding: “Anybody, any man out there, should go for a test without a shadow of a doubt because it’s life-saving.

“All I can say is, anybody who’s over the age of 50 and you’ve never been tested for prostate cancer, go and do it. I’m telling you, you’ll be relieved when they say, ‘No, everything’s fine, all right’.

“Even if you’ve got it, if you catch it early enough, it can be stopped.”

Cannon hailed his wife, Hazel Winman, as “amazing” through his diagnosis, and said it means “everything” to have her support, adding: “She’s so supportive. She’s strong.

“I’ve got a great family. I’ve got a great family life. I’m a very lucky man.”

He continued: “(The cancer) is in the back of my mind, but very rarely do I even think about it to be honest.”

The comedian told PA he is still working as an entertainer, and said: “I’m all over the country, doing clubs and doing theatres, doing cruising.

“I wouldn’t know what to do if I didn’t go out and work.”

Speaking about his comedy partner Ball, he added: “I want to keep his memory alive as well.”

Cannon and Ball met in the 1960s when they were working as welders in the same factory in Oldham and started performing in working men’s clubs, before finding fame on ITV talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1968.

Ball died after suffering from Covid in 2020, aged 76.

Prostate Cancer UK states the condition is the most common cancer in men and one in eight men will receive a diagnosis in their lifetime, with the risk increasing if you are over 50, black, or have a family history of the disease.

Prostate cancer develops slowly, so there may be no signs for years, but says signs may include an increased need to urinate, straining while urinating and a feeling that the bladder has not fully emptied, according to the NHS.