Only Fools and Horses star Patrick Murray has urged his followers to get checked out for an ultrasound after revealing that he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour in his lung.
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The actor was able to have the tumour removed after catching it early, and spoke about his experience to encourage others to get help after spotting the signs.
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He wrote: "The other day I saw a [government] advert advising anyone who has been suffering from bloating, pain or discomfort in the abdominal region and constipation to ask their GP to refer them for an ultrasound exam. It's quick, totally painless and it can save your life.
Patrick had a cancerous tumour removed
"I now speak from my own experience. Naturally I wanted to keep my own health problems private but failing to fully endorse this ad would be selfish. Thanks to my ultrasound I have a fighting chance. It showed my organs needed further investigation and tumours were spotted… This led to a pet scan which covers a much larger area. To my wonderful surprise these lesions were not cancerous, but the scan did find an EARLY stage cancerous tumour in my lung."
He concluded: "This has since been removed and I am tweeting now, which would not be the case if I hadn't had the ultrasound all those months ago."
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We're wishing him a speedy recovery
Fans have been wishing the actor, who plays Mickey Pearce on the series, a very speedy recovery. One person wrote: "Feeling for you and wishing you a healthy recovery. I had ovarian cancer in August, 2018 and was clear on Xmas Eve, 2018 and I'm remaining clear of cancer, following my latest check up this month. Stay strong and keep fighting."
Another added: "I watched Only Fools for the first time last month and I enjoyed every episode of it. Get well soon!"
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