Steve McQueen has revealed that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago before filming Blitz.
While speaking to Deadline in an article published on November 14, the director revealed that he had a small tumor on his prostate and had to undergo surgery to remove it. The director is now "fully recovered and fully functional" however the production of the shoot had to be delayed by two weeks during his surgery.
The director said that the "doctors discovered that I had developed this cancer, this tumor, a small tumor, and therefore obviously caught it very, very, early. I delayed the shoot by two weeks and then I had the procedure.
The director added that he kept news of his diagnosis a secret to not "concern" the cast and crew of the movie,
"I was just doing stuff in bed on the computer - working, emailing, and whatever, but I kept it private at that stage."
Steve wanted to "get on with the job" after the surgery since he's a "'get on with it' kind of person."
Steve McQueen talks about the importance of early cancer detection
While opening up about his cancer diagnosis, Steve McQueen said that he's cancer-free today since he discovered the tumor early.
"Early detection means virtually a hundred percent success rate. Again, it's a cancer that if you detect early, it's totally survivable and curable."
The director added that his father's death made him "want to know everything" about prostate cancer. The director's father passed away due to prostate cancer three decades ago, but "saved" Steve's life.
Steve McQueen noted that prostate cancer "affects a lot of Black men", adding that "one in four Black men will get prostate cancer" and "one in twelve black men will die of prostate cancer." McQueen is now joining hands with Prostate Cancer Research's Proactive For Your Prostate campaign and its slogan Everyman A Scan. The campaign was launched with the help of U.K. parliamentary lawmakers and members of the prostate cancer community to raise awareness about regular screening.
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Steve McQueen has been raising awareness about prostate cancer for a long time. In 2021, Steve released a short film; Embarassed navigating the stigma surrounding prostate cancer in the Black community. The film featured stars like Idris Elba and Morgan Freeman and encouraged more open discussions about prostate cancer.
His upcoming movie Blitz will be released on Apple TV+ on November 22.
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