Pioneering radio broadcaster James Whale, who made his name on Radio Aire in Leeds in the 1980s, has revealed that he has cancer of the kidney, spine, brain and lungs.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, the 69-year-old said he had considered going to Dignitas when he was first given the diagnosis a fortnight ago. However, the talkRADIO presenter has now vowed to fight the disease so he can return to the airwaves.
Whale joined Radio Aire in 1982, presenting a late night talk show which gained national attention. In 1987, the James Whale Radio Show was simulcast on Yorkshire TV and made the genre famous.
He now hosts between 7pm and 10pm on News UK’s talkRADIO station, alongside long-time co-host Ash Gould.
Whale told The Sun: “This little bastard has spread. It’s in my remaining kidney. I’ve got a couple of small lesions in my lungs. I’ve got it in my spine. I’ve got it in my brain.
“I came home, had a little think about things. I decided I’m just booking myself a trip to Dignitas. You might as well just go and get it over with. I’d looked into it quite some time ago because (wife) Melinda died two years ago and it’s been something in the back of my mind.”
The legendary broadcaster, who also faced cancer 20 years ago when he had a kidney removed because of a tumour, added: “I’ve had a tumour on my pituitary gland, which has altered all my hormones. So, for the past few months, the sight of food made me feel sick.
“I suddenly looked in the mirror and I saw my granddad. I thought all my face had got sunken in, I’d gone grey.
“I haven’t got a proper prognosis yet because it’s very early days, but this immunotherapy is a very new way of treating cancer — it gets the immune system to attack the tumours.
“I’m probably going to be on tablets for the rest of my life but I’ve gone from being like a little shrunken, old man in the chair who’s not eating and could hardly walk up the stairs, to where I can run upstairs.”