Elvis Costello Sets The Record Straight About His Cancer

Elvis Costello says he’s a lucky man — his cancer was caught early.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer tells the BBC’s One Show that he now feels “right as rain.” But he also admits he overextended himself right after his surgery for cancer.

“I got extremely lucky. It goes to prove that you have to keep up with your checks. You know what? They did discover that it was something that needed, shall we say, a lodger that needed to be removed from the premises.”

“I was in the middle of making new record when I heard that. I finished my record, so it didn’t have any effect on what I was doing. I wasn’t ailing in any way. I had the operation and I didn’t really calculate enough recovery time. I got into my tour and I realized that I didn’t have my usual energies. And I though I was going to cheat people, so I then had to explain.”

Back home this week in England, he was stopped by fans on the street wondering if he shouldn’t be out of doors. Costello’s reaction is to warn fans not to believe tabloid reports about him.

“Unfortunately, there are some publications that chose to make it sound a lot more frightening than it really was. I made a very coherent statement to tell people, y’know, make sure you do as I do.”

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