Cliff Richard's Cancer Recovery at Age 85
Cliff Richard performing. Source: Wikimedia Commons
In December 2025, 85-year-old UK singer Cliff Richard revealed that he had been undergoing prostate cancer treatment for the past year, in an interview with ITV's Good Morning Britain. He shared that his cancer was “gone at the moment”, but also added that he doesn’t “know whether it's going to come back”.
Cliff Richard’s career
Richard is known as a legendary rock and roll singer in the UK with a career of over 65 years, and over 250 million record sales worldwide. He also holds the record for being the first musician to have a Top 5 album in six consecutive decades in the UK.
Cliff Richard’s cancer updates in 2025
Richard was diagnosed with early prostate cancer back in 2024, during a pre-tour insurance medical check-up. Fortunately, the cancer had not spread at that point. According to Richard, “the good fortune was that it was not very old, and the other thing is that it had not metastasized. It hadn't moved, nothing into bones or anything like that.”
Learn more: Early Prostate Cancer Treatment
Cliff Richard on prostate cancer screening in the UK
Cliff Richard's interview on Good Morning Britain. Source: @gmb on YouTube
During his Good Morning Britain interview, he made comments that more need to undergo screening. "But we need to, absolutely, I'm convinced, get there, get tested, get checked.”
He also called for men to become more aware and comfortable with highlighting the risks of prostate cancer, sharing that "I think we, as men, have got to start saying, we've got to be seen as human beings who may die of this thing."
The singer emphasized support for a national screening test for prostate cancer in the UK, and suggested wanting to work with King Charles, who is also currently facing his own battle with cancer.
However, in November 2025 the UK National Screening Committee recently released recommendations that a screening programme for all men is "likely to cause more harm than good". Currently, they recommend screening for only those with specific mutations that lead to more aggressive prostate tumors (e.g. BRCA mutations).
According to the committee, some prostate cancers grow so slowly that one would have to live to over 120 years before they are a threat. The difficulty lies in balancing the need to detect cancer early versus the risk of overtreating prostate cancer, as the side effects on bladder control and erectile dysfunction can impact quality of life.
Learn more: Should You Take the PSA Test?