Dean Sullivan has received the all-clear 18 months after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The 64-year-old actor – who played Jimmy Corkhill in Channel 4 soap ‘Brookside’ – has opened up on his battle with the disease, which he has overcome after undergoing HDR (high dose rate) brachytherapy to treat it.
Reflecting on getting the good news last month, he told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It was such a relief, so wonderful to hear. I thanked the Lord for looking after me and for all the people who had said prayers for me…
"Even though my last PSA (prostate-specific antigen) level was so low, I still have to have a hormone injection every six months for three years, which gives me the best chance that the cancer won’t come back.
"There are side effects including hot flushes and night sweats, which my female friends refer to as the ‘male menopause’. I’ve also lost body hair, which feels a bit emasculating, but it’s a small price to pay for being cancer-free."
Dean – who admitted he was "a bit shell shocked" when he was diagnosed in May 2018 – has now urged people to trust their instincts when something doesn’t seem right health-wise.
The former soap star first noticed his "stream wasn’t as strong as it used to be" when he went to the bathroom.
He said: "My stream was so different to how it had been and I knew that wasn’t how it should be.
"Sometimes people think they’re bothering the doctor unnecessarily and that doctors are always right, so if they’ve said it’s nothing, it’s nothing.
"But doctors aren’t always right so we shouldn’t be embarrassed to go back."
Brookside’s Dean Sullivan gets all-clear after cancer battle
