‘It has been absolute agony: Only Fools And Horses star Patrick Murray reveals he has been left in pain and struggling to walk after his cancer returned
Patrick Murray has shared how he has been left in unbearable pain and struggling to walk after his cancer returned.
The Only Fools and Horses star, 66, revealed his cancer had returned and spread to his legs and pelvis in an online post shared earlier this week.
Now, Patrick has candidly spoken about the ‘agony’ he has been left in with the disease and admitted he sometimes needs to use a wheelchair to get around.
The actor, best known for playing Mickey Pearce in the sitcom, said he finds himself ‘screaming in his head’ from the pain of trying to walk as he detailed his struggles.
Patrick also devastatingly told how he will be living with cancer for the rest of his life after the disease returned, but added he still has years left.
Health update: Patrick Murray (pictured in April 2018) has shared how he has been left in unbearable pain and struggling to walk after his cancer returned
He told The Sun: ‘It has been absolute agony, murder, every time I put my weight on my legs and hips I’m screaming in my head as I’m trying to walk.
‘The loo for me is ten yards away, and when I get there I feel like I’ve walked half way round the world.’
Patrick said he now needs to use a wheelchair to go shopping but admitted he has resisted buying one because he thought he ‘wasn’t ready for it yet’.
However, he remained positive as he shared that his radiology treatment is starting to work and said the pain is slowly getting less.
He previously battled lung cancer and was given the all-clear last year, before he underwent liver surgery in January 2023 after doctors found a malignant growth.
Patrick said he was given the devastating news that the disease had returned shortly after doctors told him he was cancer free after his ‘life-saving’ liver operation.
The Playhouse star told how he will have to live with cancer for the rest of his life as the disease has now spread to his bones and his blood.
But he said he was told by doctors he still has years of his life left due to ongoing chemotherapy treatment, admitting he was expecting a worse prognosis.
Struggles: Patrick, best known for playing Mickey Pearce (pictured in December 2001), has candidly spoken about the ‘agony’ he has been left in with the disease
Struggles: The Only Fools and Horses star, 66, revealed his cancer had returned and spread to his legs and pelvis in an online post shared earlier this week
Patrick told how a big goal for him amid his cancer battle is to see his daughter Josie, eight – who he shares with his wife Anong – ‘flourish’.
He said: ‘Hopefully, if all this treatment goes smoothly, and I’ll be kicking around for a bit longer, I’ll be able to watch [Josie] flourish, that’s a big aim for me.’
Earlier this week, Patrick shared the news that his cancer had returned and spread to his legs and pelvis in a series of posts on Twitter.
He wrote: ‘Despite all the wonderful efforts by the medical and nursing teams at Medway, Guys and Kings College hospitals, the lung cancer has returned.
‘I thought I had a painful groin strain a couple of months ago, unfortunately that turned out to be the cancer getting into my pelvis and leg bones. It has also entered my lymphatic system.
He said he is ‘eternally grateful’ to his surgeon Professor Nigel Heaton and said he would ‘love’ to reprise his role as Mickey in the 1980s comedy for one last time.
Patrick announced in January 2022 that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer after doctors discovered a malignant tumour.
Five months later, he told fans he was ‘cured’, writing: ‘Thanks again for all your lovely messages. As you may know, I was diagnosed with lung cancer last July.
‘After an op in October to remove the tumour I had chemo to help prevent the cancer returning.
‘During this chemo, another tumour was discovered in my liver. Luckily for me this cancer was unconnected to the lung cancer and was also treatable.
‘I had a procedure called TACE to deal with this. Last Friday l saw my oncologist She told me the lung cancer was cured and that the tumour in my liver was shrinking’.
He cautiously added: ‘It’s not over yet, but as you can imagine I am over the moon with this latest news.’
But in January this year, he told how he had undergone surgery where doctors removed half of his liver after discovering a malignant growth.
Speaking on his surgery, he told The Sun at the time: ‘I had the same surgeon as George Best, Professor Nigel Heaton, and he was delighted with the outcome as the tumour wasn’t in a good place. So I’m eternally grateful to him.
Cancer: Patrick (pictured in February 2019) devastatingly told how he will be living with cancer for the rest of his life after the disease returned, but added that he still has years left
‘Amazingly, the liver will grow back in four weeks — I couldn’t believe it when he told me.’
Patrick is best known for his role in Only Fools And Horses and he has previously told how he was hoping to reprise for one last time.
Of a reboot, he told The Sun: ‘I’d love it. Getting together again and with all the cast and seeing how all the characters have developed. Mickey will probably have a little Mickey running around.
The series’ writer John Sullivan passes away in 2011, but Patrick is confident a reboot could still work, adding: ‘If the quality of the script was there, I imagine the others would be up for it too.’
