Rhod Gilbert left with long-term condition after devastating cancer battle

Even though he credits himself as one of the fortunate ones, Rhod Gilbert has admitted that he is still dealing with some health issues as a result of his ordeal with cancer.

The comedian was diagnosed with stage four head and neck cancer back in 2022, after suffering from symptoms such as, a sore throat, a persistent cough, struggles with swallowing, and choking.

The 56-year-old received the all-clear last year after receiving radiotherapy and chemotherapy at Cardiff’s Velindre Cancer Centre, and has since had regular ENT camera exams every six months.

Sharing an exclusive update about his health post-cancer, Rhod said while he’s in a much better place, he still has problems in his neck, throat and mouth area, as well as issues with his taste.

“I’ve tried to cut down on booze, I gave up smoking, but years ago I gave up smoking anyway”, he shared of his lifestyle post-cancer. “I guess I’m a little more conscious than I was then, but cancer also places you in an odd place where you want to snag life in the short and curlies.”

The comedian continued, saying he particularly feels “very lucky” that most of his taste has returned, but that some things still taste “weird.”

He was also fed through a machine for eight months, which included having trouble swallowing at the time. “With head and neck cancer, quite often, everything tastes disgusting with head and neck, even water, even a cup of tea, everything is disgusting”, he explained.

“Not now, but I’m still left with some problems, so tea still tastes a bit odd, lots of things taste weird still. My taste is almost, sort of 80 per cent back to normal, my swallowing is pretty good, but at the time, you can’t swallow and everything tastes disgusting.

” Food is horrible, I mean you’re being fed by a machine straight into your stomach, with head and neck cancer quite often, because you can’t swallow as it’s too painful. “

According to Macmillan, losing your taste can be a side effect to radiotherapy. You might lose your taste buds or discover that everything tastes the same, according to the website. Typically, the taste is salty or metallic. Your sense of taste should recover, but it may take many months for this to happen. “

Rhod said he was surprised by how good he felt while performing for his Rhod Gilbert and The Giant Grapefruit tour despite the still-existing issues.

He continued:” I feel great, my energy levels are good and I’m just really happy to be up there. I can’t believe really quite how well I feel, I’ve got problems in my neck, throat area and my mouth area, but other than that, I feel great. “

Up until November 2025, Rhod is currently playing over 130 dates at locations throughout the UK and Ireland. Here are tour information and tickets.

Source: Mirror