Seinfeld star Michael Richards has revealed he was diagnosed with cancer and was forced to undergo surgery to remove his whole prostate – or risk dying within months.
Richards, 74, opened up about the troubling time in his soon-to-be released memoir, Entrances And Exits, saying the diagnosis came after a routine check-up showed high PSA levels.
The star recollected how he was diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer back in 2018.
He said in an interview with People on Thursday that his then nine-year-old son motivated him to find a way to live longer.
“I thought, ‘Well, this is my time. I’m ready to go’,” the actor and former stand-up comedian told the US weekly magazine while discussing the moment he received the news.
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“But then my son came to mind just a few seconds later and I heard myself saying, ‘I’ve got a nine-year-old and I’d like to be around for him. Is there any way I can get a little more life going?'”
Richards said if he hadn’t followed the doctor’s advice to remove his entire prostate, “I probably would have been dead in about eight months”.
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The actor said he decided to write the memoir, which will be released on 4 June, as he wanted “to do a full review of my life”.
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Richards has spent years out of the spotlight. In 2006, he was caught on camera launching a racist tirade against hecklers at one of his Los Angeles stand-up sets.
“I was immediately sorry the moment I said it on stage,” Richards told People.
He said as the “damage was inside of me”, he stepped away from showbiz.
“The most I could do for everybody was go home and get my s— together,” he said.
