Dave Myers was worried he 'wouldn't be here for Chrismas'
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Appearing on BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen, on December 10, 2022, Myers admitted: “It’s been a rough year… I can’t pretend otherwise.” In May, the 65-year-old revealed he was undergoing chemotherapy to get rid of his cancer. “There are some times where I didn’t think I’d be here for Christmas,” the celebrity chef said.
Choosing not to disclose which type of tumour he had, Myers did want to give a “shoutout to the doctors and nurses in Birmingham” who helped to put him “back together” again.
He gave a special acknowledgement to “nurse Marion”, who would bring him the “best banana bread ever” before he would do chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy
The NHS explains: “Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment where medicine is used to kill cancer cells.”
The treatment “stops cancer cells reproducing, which prevents them from growing and spreading in the body”.
Most commonly, chemotherapy is given intravenously, meaning it’s supplied via a tube into the hand, arm or chest.
Several treatment sessions are typically needed, which will be spread across a few months.
“As well as killing cancer cells, chemotherapy can damage some healthy cells in your body, such as blood cells, skin cells and cells in the stomach,” the NHS cautions.
This can lead to a range of unpleasant side effects, such as:
- Feeling tired most of the time
- Feeling and being sick
- Hair loss
- An increased risk of getting infections
- A sore mouth
- Dry, sore or itchy skin
- Diarrhoea or constipation.
While the side effects can be unpleasant, most (if not all) will pass after treatment stops.
“Si has been looking after me, filling my freezer full of mince and dumplings,” Myers added.
Si King is the other half of the Hairy Bikers duo; the pair met back in 1995, and formed their double act in 2004.
He too has experienced life-saving treatment, but his was for a brain aneurysm.
What’s a brain aneurysm?
The NHS adds: “An aneurysm is a bulge in a blood vessel caused by a weakness in the blood vessel wall, usually where it branches.
“As blood passes through the weakened blood vessel, the blood pressure causes a small area to bulge outwards like a balloon.”
A brain aneurysm, otherwise known as an intracranial or cerebral aneurysm, could burst.
Such a rupture can lead to extensive brain damage, which is why preventative treatment can be life-saving.
The NHS says: “If treatment is recommended, this usually involves either filling the aneurysm with tiny metal coils (coiling)…
“Or an open operation to seal it shut with a tiny metal clip (surgical clipping).”
While Si’s aneurysm did rupture in 2014, he underwent emergency surgery that was, thankfully, successful.
Hairy Bikers’ Christmas Special is on BBC Two, 8pm, on Tuesday, December 20.
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