Penny Lancaster has opened up about her husband Rod Stewart's cancer diagnosis for the first time. Appearing on Thursday's episode of Loose Women, the 48-year-old broke down in tears as she explained why they kept the diagnosis a secret from the world for nearly three years. "It was our choice to come out [with the news], as it were. Rod was performing at a prostate cancer event with the Faces," she explained. "After a few songs he said, 'Hi everyone, thank you so much for coming and I have to just take this moment, I owe it to everyone, I'm a survivor'."
© Photo: ITVPenny Lancaster broke her silence on Rod Stewart's cancer battle
In September, Rod announced he had secretly been battling prostate cancer after he was diagnosed in February 2016 during a routine check-up. "In July he got the all clear, there's no trace at all – he just wanted to give a message out to all men, especially over 50, you can actually go and request to get a PSA blood test," added Penny. "Which will give you a little indication, it's not a sure result. But if there's a sign that the readings are elevated, and if it's the case you can have further examinations rectally, which is an awkward thing for men to talk about. Men don't get an offer to come in, you can request it. Really that should move."
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Of learning the news, Penny said: "We were in London. He's very up on his health. He doesn't believe in retirement, he wants to keep going forever, so he's always getting screenings and tests." She continued: "Rod had a few symptoms. It started moving quite quickly, the results, the numbers. They said we best do a rectal exam. It's the only way. A specialist has to do that. And they did find a lump. Then it was like, 'ok we can't ignore this.' We got the shock news it was cancer. We looked at the different ways of dealing with it."
Penny explained: "It was [quite aggressive]. It came on really quickly. With Rod it was an aggressive one. It left the gland and travelled to the outside tissues. So that was another scary moment where we had to have more invasive tests and scans to see if it was anywhere else secondary in his body, which was the most frightening test of all. But it hadn't gone. It's emotional. We kept it quiet for two and a half years now. The positive news is we caught it early enough."
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The couple only shared the news with their older children first. "We told the older ones… It would be too much for them [the younger ones] to understand," explained Penny. "When daddy finally told everybody the good news, and to get the message out there for guys out there over 50 go and get the test, then we told the little ones."
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