Andy Taylor won’t let his health struggles keep him down.
The former Duran Duran guitarist, who previously revealed he’s living with Stage 4 prostate cancer, opened up about his treatment journey for the disease in a Friday interview with BBC Breakfast. Taylor, 62, said he’s been taking Lutetitum-177, a “nuclear medicine” that targets his cancer cells.
“It can’t see healthy cells,” Taylor told the British outlet. “It kills stage four cancer in your bones. And so, what it’s effectively done is extend my life for five years.”
Lutetium-177 is a “tolerable and effective” treatment option for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, an aggressive form of prostate cancer that doesn’t respond to traditional hormonal treatment, doctor Kanchi Patell and others wrote in Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
Taylor said he was introduced to the drug by scientist and biotechnology entrepreneur Chris Evans, founder of The Cancer Awareness Trust. Evans told the BBC that Lutetium-177 injections were “the best option” for the musician, given his condition.
“When patients like Andy Taylor have unfortunately progressed to stage four prostate cancer with secondary metastases, particularly in the bone tissue, then treatment options are limited,” Evans said. “He’d already received some of the best medicines available and was in serious decline.”
Taylor broke the news of his prostate cancer diagnosis in an open letter read by bandmate and Duran Duran lead singer Simon Le Bon at the band’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in November 2022.
Taylor told BBC Breakfast he was “massively disappointed” to miss the band’s ceremony due to his worsening health. “A few days before, I couldn’t really stand up and play,” Taylor recalled, adding that only family and some friends knew about his illness. “I missed the biggest night of my life.”
‘There is no cure’:Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor reveals Stage 4 prostate cancer diagnosis at Rock Hall induction
Taylor added he had to get himself in “very, very good health” before he could undergo the Lutetium-177 treatment. Evans said Taylor has “done marvelously” with his first round of treatment.
“We are optimistic he will do well on future rounds, and this may result in quite a substantial life extension for Andy to continue being very creative and active making and performing live music,” Evans said.
Taylor, who is set to release his album “Man’s A Wolf To Man” in September, remained adamant he doesn’t want his illness to define the remainder of his life.
“I don’t want to be a patient stuck here,” Taylor said. “I want to be a working patient, a little beacon of hope, because this stuff — cancer — just drags you and your family down in the darkness.”
‘Trying to stay alive’:Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor gives update on stage 4 prostate cancer
Contributing: Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY
