Russell Watson: My daily reminder of tumour that nearly killed me

celebrities news russell watson opera singer brain tumour

ON SONG: Russell has released five albums since having his tumour removed (Image: Daily Express)

IT may be more than a decade since Russell Watson had a life-threatening tumour removed from his brain, but every morning when his alarm goes off, the singer is reminded of how close he came to death. “When I wake up I feel terrible,” reveals the 52 year old. “Every. Single. Day.

“I used to spring out of bed in the morning – quick rinse of the face, brush of the teeth and off I went. Now there are two moods in the day for me; there’s the morning mood and there’s the rest-of-the-day mood. If I get out of bed before I’ve taken my medication, nobody wants to be around me.”

Many people believe Russell had cancer but his tumour, which was discovered in September 2006, was actually a benign (non-cancerous) fibrous tumour that became dangerous because of the speed it was growing.

He underwent an operation to remove it, but required emergency surgery the following October when it returned.

“My tumour was wrapped around my pituitary gland, so it destroyed it completely,” explains the tenor, who will have to take a cocktail of hormones every day for the rest of his life to keep him on an even keel.

celebrities news russell watson opera singer brain tumour

HELL AND BACK: Russell with Aled Jones (Image: Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for BMG)

“The pituitary is responsible for sending messages around your body to secrete hormones that, among other things, naturally wake you and make you feel human.

“Mine doesn’t do that anymore so I have to inject them, swallow them and apply them topically in gel form – cortisol, testosterone, the growth hormone somatotropin. Then I sit and wait. They take an hour to kick in so I play Candy Crush – I’m on about level 2,500 now!

“I’ve got used to the feeling but it has taken a long time. It’s a daily process and it’s all about balances.”

Hormonal changes haven’t been the only adjustments. 

For Russell, dealing with the emotional fallout of his tumour returning was equally tough.

“I had post-traumatic stress disorder for two years and, me being me, I didn’t tell anyone about it until I started feeling better,” he says.

“I remember going to an appointment with Tara, my endocrinologist, who I see four or five times a year to make sure all my hormone balances are right. She asked how I was and I replied, ‘I feel much better, I’ve finally stopped thinking about death when I go to bed’. She couldn’t believe I hadn’t mentioned it before. I had thought it was a normal reaction to what I’d been through so just got on with it.”

His trauma stemmed from the way Russell’s tumour presented itself the second time around.

celebrities news russell watson opera singer brain tumour

Russell post-op with Hannah and Rebecca (Image: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)

 The first time it appeared he went to a hospital with splitting headaches and tunnel vision, but the second time it took him by surprise.

“I went to bed and literally didn’t wake up,” he recalls.

“My assistant Gary found me the next morning and called 999. My tumour had grown at fantastic speed and then haemorrhaged in four places. I was oblivious to the world until the paramedics were carrying me out.

“As a result, once I got home, I was going to bed every single night thinking, ‘I hope it hasn’t come back’, worrying that I wasn’t going to get up in the morning. I was petrified for around two years and would wake with massive panic attacks and palpitations.

celebrities news russell watson opera singer brain tumour

Russell Watson in June this year (Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

“By the time I told people how I was feeling, I had already processed it by myself and was much better. I wish I had said something earlier though, it wasn’t the nicest sensation,” he adds with typical understatement.

Russell’s tumour is unlikely to return again.

After the second occurrence, he had 25 sessions of radiotherapy.

“No one understands why I wasn’t given it the first time,” he says. 

“Now I have regular blood tests to keep an eye on my hormones and MRI scans to make sure what is left of the tumour doesn’t start to grow again. But I’m beginning to think I’m good, I’m through the worst of it.”

Since 2007 Russell, who is father to Rebecca, 23, and Hannah, 18, has released five albums and toured extensively.

Next year he embarks on a 22 night UK tour with Aled Jones – something doctors would never have predicted 10 years ago.

“As soon as I was told it was physiologically improbable that I would go back to performing the way I was before, singing big classical opera numbers and doing as many concerts, I thought ‘I’ll show you!'” he laughs. 

“All I need is someone to tell me I can’t do something. It was bloody painful but I feel very lucky every time I walk on stage.”

Russell Watson and Aled Jones’s new album In Harmony is out now. Their UK tour begins in September 2019. Visit aledandrussell.com.

source: express.co.uk