Tommy Walsh wearing a red shirt on This Morning
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Ground Force star Tommy Walsh reveals his cancer ‘came back this year’ as he details treatment

He's praised the NHS for looking after him

Ground Force star Tommy Walsh has given a cancer update six months after he revealed he was having tests on a tumour doctors found in his lung.

The news, shared in at the end of last year, came just days after he was axed from the popular BBC show, Homes Under the Hammer.

Tommy was originally diagnosed with cancer in 2022 after finding a lump in his throat. In November 2023, he said doctors had found a tumour in his lung. Now, Tommy has revealed the cancer returned underneath his lung earlier this year.

As a result, he is undergoing “cutting edge” treatment to fight it.

Tommy Walsh presenting Homes Under the Hammer TV
Tommy Walsh was first diagnosed with cancer in 2022 (Credit: BBC iPlayer)

Tommy Walsh shares cancer update

The 67-year-old TV personality detailed the radiation treatment he is receiving from the NHS. He told The Mirror: “My cancer came back earlier this year. They found it again under the lung. So I had to have this new treatment called SABR. What it is is radiotherapy which targets it to an exact spot without damaging the organs around it. So they used that and it shrunk.”

Tomm added: “It is now not anywhere else. It is going away. Because it is shrinking it will shrink down to nothing and disappear. I will then just have to have annual checks. It has worked for me really well.”

My cancer came back earlier this year. They found it again under the lung.

Tommy also stated that he felt “lucky” that the tumour wasn’t found inside his lung. He said: “They thought it was in the lung and then I would have been in trouble. Surgery would have been serious where they cut you open and take a big lump of bone out of the rib and then they would have to put a piece of metal mesh in to stop the lung falling out of the hole. So I did not want that but we had that as a back-up. The SABR treatment has worked and I am healthy so I have not been in any pain.”

Tommy Walsh’s health history

Tommy initially made the announcement of the discovery of a tumour on his lung whilst on stage at a conference of The Swallows Head & Neck Cancer charity, on November 27 2023.

He said: “I had a chest infection, had to go to the doctor and they sent me up to hospital for a CT scan. They think there’s a 3cm tumour in the lung. I’ve tried to keep cheerful and you’ve cheered me up today. Thank you for letting me reminisce and talk.

“I was weighing up whether or not to tell you about this but I felt it would be unfair if I was to leave this and I didn’t tell you. That’s why I’m going to have to leave after this talk and I won’t be able to join you for a few beers tonight. But I hope and I would be really pleased if you would have a few on my behalf and I’ll keep my fingers crossed. If you wouldn’t mind, keep your fingers crossed for me.”

Tommy Walsh wearing a suit whilst talking to the camera
Tommy Walsh first received his diagnosis whilst fronting a cancer awareness campaign (Credit: Youtube)

‘Back playing football’

The star was first affected by the disease in 2022, whilst he was fronting a cancer awareness campaign.

He said: “I went to my GP about an unrelated issue. While I was there, he discovered this lump in my throat that he was a bit concerned about. He said it may be nothing but that he would rather I went and got it checked. Unfortunately, it turned out to be cancerous.

“I had to go in straight away and have surgery to remove it. I am now fully recovered and even back playing football!”

Read more: Alan Titchmarsh’s ‘row’ with Garden Force co-star Tommy Walsh

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Emily Towers
TV & Showbiz Writer
Emily loves to write about the latest trending news, whether it’s reality TV chaos or Royal drama. She also has a passion for translating editorial content into share-worthy social media posts after spending two years as a social media manager and marketing executive.