Peter Andre opened up about his brother’s death at a fundraising event for Cancer Research this week.
The father-of-four said the loss of Andrew to kidney cancer six years ago tore his family apart and it’s still too difficult for them to talk about.
“When someone in your family goes from this terrible disease, many people’s lives are affected – brothers, sisters, parents, children, husbands, wives and so on,” he said.
“The thing is, as a family we are so devastated by this loss, we still don’t sit down and talk about it because it is so raw.”
As reported in The Sun, Peter told told the audience at James Ingham’s Jog On To Cancer event in London’s Café de Paris that at first he wanted nothing to do with cancer charities.
“I remember when we first loss him, I was contacted by Cancer Research to get involved and I said no. I hated the thought of it. I was angry at cancer,” he said.
But he said his other brother, Mike, made him see it from a different viewpoint.
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“One day my brother, Mike, said to me: ‘You’re never going to get over it so you have to get on with it’,” the Mysterious Girl singer recalled.
Peter said he then decided he wanted to be “part of the solution” and help other families.
To that end, he spoke at the charity bash to urge people – particularly men – to get regular health checks.
Peter, whose speech was posted to Facebook by his management, The Can Group, said if Andrew’s cancer had been detected earlier, he may have been saved.
“It’s become such a part of our lives but no one really wants to hear it or deal with the problem until it becomes a problem, and that is what the problem is. Because then it can be too late,” he said.
“Us guys, we usually have to wait for something bad to take notice. Do I think my brother could have been saved if his cancer was detected earlier? Sure. But the bigger picture is millions of others are going through this right now.”
Peter, 45, said Andrew’s cancer came “out of the blue” as he’d “led an active, had a healthy lifestyle”.
Andrew died in 2012 after a ten-month battle with the disease at the age of 54.
Since then, Peter and his family have been active supporters of cancer research charities, and in 2013, Peter set up the Cancer Research UK Peter Andre Fund.
If you want to donate to Jog On To Cancer text 70070 with JJOG51 with £5 or £10
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