Jools Holland was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014 (Image: Getty)
Jools Holland has been raising awareness of prostate cancer following his diagnosis in 2014.
The musician, 66, will be gracing our screens again tonight (December 31) for his eagerly-awaited end-of-year party, Jools’ Annual Hootenanny. Jools has been ringing in the New Year since 1994, with the star once again inviting the audience and viewers to join him in a countdown on Two.
In 2022, the singer hit headlines when he ended an eight-year silence to disclose his prostate cancer diagnosis.
Jools shared news of his health battle as he launched an event in collaboration with Prostate Cancer UK, recalling his diagnosis as utterly shocking due to the absence of symptoms.
When Holland made the startling revelation, he was partnering with the charity for a musical extravaganza called Raise the Roof. The event saw a host of renowned musicians and comedians perform at the Royal Albert Hall.
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Jools kept his battle with cancer a secret for eight years (Image: BBC)
“I had no awareness of prostate cancer, no symptoms that I noticed whatsoever until I was diagnosed following a routine blood test in 2014”, Jools confessed.
Fortunately, the cancer was detected early enough for the treatment to be effective.
Jools explained: “Thankfully I was successfully treated, but if more people were aware of their risk and caught the disease early, then more lives would be saved.”
Reflecting on his battle with the disease in a YouTube video with Prostate Cancer UK, the pianist stressed the importance of awareness around the condition.
“If I can bring people’s awareness to the facts of prostate cancer then I would certainly stand on top of my piano and shout about it because I think it’s really important,” he said. “People often think ‘this is something that happens to other people’.”
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Jools has been raising awareness for prostate cancer since going public with his diagnosis (Image: YouTube)
Explaining his lack of symptoms, Jools continued: “It’s not like I felt any different. It’s not like I suddenly felt ill, except you suddenly have this thing hanging over your head and you think ‘hang on, don’t people die from all this?
“I had no idea. I had no symptoms that I’d noticed whatsoever.”
Jools revealed that his routine blood test at the doctors showed that his PSA levels had gone up, meaning it needed to be looked into further.
Grateful for his timely test, Jools emphasised: “Had I not had that routine test, where something had shown up, then I would have just gone on and on until it was perhaps too late to have done anything about it.”
At the time, Jools said that his recovery was “going great”.
Jools purchased a new sports car after some words from his doctor (Image: Getty)
He added: “And that’s why it’s really important for men to be aware of the facts of prostate cancer and understand their risk.”
After announcing his diagnosis, Jools revealed what his doctor suggested he should do.
The composer recalled: “He did say to me, ‘If there’s something you have been thinking about doing, like buying a sports car, this is the time to do it’.”
Jools followed his doctors orders and went and purchased a shiny new sports car.
The former Squeeze bandmember said: “It is a Mercedes SLS. My friend Hugh Laurie said, ‘You should have got the – Mid Life Krisis’.”