Stephen Fry, the legendary British comedian, actor and presenter, announced today on his website that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The 60-year-old, who has shared many personal details about his life before in a number of autobiographies, made a 13-minute long video about "some news" that he wanted to share, and went into detail about his recent battle with the illness.

"I - I don't know how to say this, really ... but I went to see my doctor just before Christmas for a flu jab," Fry said, and explained that his doctor encouraged him to have a general check-up, too. "The next day, he called me up and said, 'I'm a little worried about your PSA [Prostate-Specific Antigen] levels ... maybe you should consider an MRI'".

The former Blackadder star then went on to describe his experience at the hospital in great detail (as we all know Fry is wont to do), the MRI, a following visit to a specialist, and then a biopsy on the suspect area, before getting to the crux of the story: "They took a clip of living tissue from the prostate and again another wait, and I got the results the next day and yes indeed there is a cancer there."

"I went around saying to myself, 'I've got cancer. Good heavens, Stephen, you're not the sort of person who gets cancer,'" he said. "I know it's an old cliche but you don't think it's going to happen to you."

Fortunately for Fry, the cancer was caught early enough, and doctors were able to intervene. He was given a number of prospective options, and ended up taking a fairly invasive route to recovery.

"One option was radiotherapy but it's a long process," Fry explained. "The other was to get rid of the prostate by sending little robots in through tiny holes in your tummy."

So, he continued, "In the first week of January, I had the operation, it seemed to go well. They took the prostate out, and eleven lymph nodes. It was an aggressive little bugger."

The former QI host then went on to explain that he wanted to update his fans on his current situation, as he knew that there had been rumors circulating about his health, and he wanted to clear the air about why he hadn't been making as many public appearances lately.

"If you're wondering why I've been out of the public eye - I'm sure you haven't - I have been keeping my head down because you want to get better without strangers - with the best of intentions - sending cards and flowers," he explained. "You have to reply and I wasn't really up to that."

He also finished up the video on a surprisingly joyful note, saying: "Here's hoping I've got another few years left on this planet because I enjoy life at the moment and that's a marvelous thing to be able to say, and I'd rather it didn't go away."

While it's sad to hear that Fry had been dealing with such a terrible illness by himself, it's wonderful to hear that he is getting better, and was able to tackle the issue in such a warm and honest way. We wish him a speedy recovery, and hope that he is back to full health very soon.

Stephen Fry, the legendary British comedian, actor and presenter, announced today on his website that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The 60-year-old, who has shared many personal details about his life before in a number of autobiographies, made a 13-minute long video about "some news" that he wanted to share, and went into detail about his recent battle with the illness.

"I - I don't know how to say this, really ... but I went to see my doctor just before Christmas for a flu jab," Fry said, and explained that his doctor encouraged him to have a general check-up, too. "The next day, he called me up and said, 'I'm a little worried about your PSA [Prostate-Specific Antigen] levels ... maybe you should consider an MRI'".

The former Blackadder star then went on to describe his experience at the hospital in great detail (as we all know Fry is wont to do), the MRI, a following visit to a specialist, and then a biopsy on the suspect area, before getting to the crux of the story: "They took a clip of living tissue from the prostate and again another wait, and I got the results the next day and yes indeed there is a cancer there."

"I went around saying to myself, 'I've got cancer. Good heavens, Stephen, you're not the sort of person who gets cancer,'" he said. "I know it's an old cliche but you don't think it's going to happen to you."

Fortunately for Fry, the cancer was caught early enough, and doctors were able to intervene. He was given a number of prospective options, and ended up taking a fairly invasive route to recovery.

"One option was radiotherapy but it's a long process," Fry explained. "The other was to get rid of the prostate by sending little robots in through tiny holes in your tummy."

So, he continued, "In the first week of January, I had the operation, it seemed to go well. They took the prostate out, and eleven lymph nodes. It was an aggressive little bugger."

The former QI host then went on to explain that he wanted to update his fans on his current situation, as he knew that there had been rumors circulating about his health, and he wanted to clear the air about why he hadn't been making as many public appearances lately.

"If you're wondering why I've been out of the public eye - I'm sure you haven't - I have been keeping my head down because you want to get better without strangers - with the best of intentions - sending cards and flowers," he explained. "You have to reply and I wasn't really up to that."

He also finished up the video on a surprisingly joyful note, saying: "Here's hoping I've got another few years left on this planet because I enjoy life at the moment and that's a marvelous thing to be able to say, and I'd rather it didn't go away."

While it's sad to hear that Fry had been dealing with such a terrible illness by himself, it's wonderful to hear that he is getting better, and was able to tackle the issue in such a warm and honest way. We wish him a speedy recovery, and hope that he is back to full health very soon.