Newsreader Dermot Murnaghan has called for better cancer screening as he opens up on his own diagnosis.
The former Sky News and BBC broadcaster revealed earlier this year that he had been diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer.
Stage four is the most advanced stage of cancer, meaning cancerous cells have spread beyond the prostate and into other areas of the body. In these cases, it is generally not curable, but it can be treated.
The 67-year-old has today called for improved cancer screening, saying money will eventually be ‘saved further down the line’.
He issued a plea for a better screening process for men aged over 50, in high-risk groups or who have symptoms.
Prostate cancer is often diagnosed using a blood test to measure prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels.
Mr Murnaghan said that, despite PSA tests possibly being ‘inaccurate and leading to overtreatment’, tests are ‘getting more accurate’ and that funds would be saved will earlier diagnosis.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: ‘Most men who age have an enlarged prostate of some kind.
Newsreader Dermot Murnaghan revealed earlier this year he has been diagnosed with stage four cancer
Dermot Murnaghan and wife Maria at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London. The couple have four children
Dermot revealed the tragic news on twitter, but said he feels well and is getting excellent treatment
‘In many cases, it is not going to be a threat to their life. Something else in the end will probably get them.
‘So I understand that, but the fact is that the tests are getting more accurate.
‘I am not a professional here, I only know from my end of it, but they are getting more accurate.
‘They might cost a bit more money, but think of the money you save on treating people who get to my stage.
‘There are an awful lot of things being thrown at me that are costing a lot of money.
‘If I had been caught, as in so many more of the other cancers, if you diagnose much earlier, you save money further down the line.’
Mr Murnaghan, who has been married to his wife Maria for almost 36 years and has four children, revealed his diagnosis on Twitter in June.
‘I’ve been diagnosed with stage four advanced prostate cancer I’m fortunate to have a simply outstanding medical team looking after me, who I can’t thank enough – they are administering the best possible care with expertise, compassion and sensitivity’, he wrote.
‘I’m responding positively to their excellent treatment, and feeling well’.
He also said that he is aiming to take part in Sir Chris Hoy’s fundraising charity bike ride in September which will raise awareness and funds for cancer charities across the UK.
The former BBC and Sky News anchor, 67, is a keen cyclist and is planning to take part in a charity bike ride with Sir Chris Hoy in September
The Olympian announced he had a terminal diagnosis for prostate cancer in October 2024.
The Tour de 4 ride, which will begin and end at the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome in Glasgow on September 7, aims to change the perception of people living with stage four cancer.
Mr Murnaghan said today: ‘Needless to say my message to all men over 50, in high risk groups, or displaying symptoms, is get yourself tested and campaign for routine prostate screening by the NHS.
‘Early detection is crucial. And be aware, this disease can sometimes progress rapidly without obvious symptoms’.
NHS guidance says men over the age of 50 are at highest risk of developing prostate cancer, but Sir Chris wants to help men get screened earlier.
About one in eight men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime, according to the charity Prostate Cancer UK, and the disease often has no symptoms in its earlier stages.
Dermot left Sky after more than 15 years in 2023.
Before joining Sky News, Murnaghan presented ITV’s News At Ten and the BBC Ten O’Clock News – now known as BBC News At Ten – as well as Channel 4 News.
Murnaghan has also hosted the BBC’s quiz programme Eggheads.
While at Sky News he was the journalist who announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace as well as numerous elections in the UK and the US.
Dermot Murnaghan speaks in front of cameras outside Buckingham Palace as he told Sky News viewers that the Queen had died in 2022
Dermot Murnaghan and Natasha Kaplinsky became a famous BBC Breakfast duo
Dermot started out in local newspapers and became one of the biggest names in TV
He began his career as a trainee reporter at local newspapers before joining Channel 4 as a researcher. He later became a reporter for the broadcaster’s The Business Programme.
After a brief stint in Switzerland to present the European Business Channel, Mr Murnaghan returned to Britain to host the business segments on The Channel 4 Daily, a new breakfast show by Channel 4.
He then made the move to ITV in the early 1990s, where in 1997 he broke the news of the death of Princess Diana.
The veteran journalist switched broadcasters again in the early 2000s, joining BBC Breakfast as one of the lead presenters from 2002 to 2007.
Dermot formed a very popular partnership with Natasha Kaplinsky.
He was also a regular fixture on the six o’clock and ten o’clock news.
He moved to Sky News in October 2007, where he has remained until his final show almost 16 years later.
Away from news, he presented the popular BBC quiz, Eggheads.
Murnaghan presents true crime documentary series Killer Britain and the podcast Legends Of News.
Dermot, a keen cyclist, was a victim of a ‘hit and run’ in 2016 when he was knocked off his bike
Mr Murnaghan was the ITN presenter who announced Princess Diana had died in 1997. Dermot has also presented the quiz show Eggheads and documentaries
Dermot with his wife and four children Jack, Alice, Molly and Kitty, who are all now grown up
In 2017 the newsreader was ‘wiped out’ by a driver while he was cycling.
The accident, which he described as a ‘hit-and-run’, left him with a number of cuts and bruises as well as a damaged bike.
He shared the image of his injured face on social media with the caption: ‘This is why I haven’t been on the air for two days.’
Speaking to Sky News, he said afterwards: ‘On an empty road in north London a guy in a car on a mobile phone pulled out from the side of the road without indicating.
‘I swerved that, but a millisecond later he U-turned into me and wiped me out.’
Mr Murnaghan, who is an avid cyclist, explained that he had woken up at 6am to go cycling with friends before work and had been wearing a hi-vis jacket.
He said: ‘Twenty minutes later I was lying by the side of the road with a broken cycle helmet and a hobbled bike, still spinning, lights shining – and a variety of cuts, bruises and abrasions, but thankfully no broken bones.’
