As a cinephile with a deep appreciation for the craft and resilience of filmmakers, I cannot help but be moved by Steve McQueen‘s inspiring story. Having lost my own father to prostate cancer, I can only imagine the strength it took for McQueen to confront this disease while simultaneously working on his latest film, “Blitz.
Steve McQueen, the award-winning director known for movies like “12 Years a Slave,” “Shame,” and “Widows,” disclosed that just before starting work on his upcoming movie “Blitz” in 2022, he received a prostate cancer diagnosis. According to Deadline, this diagnosis postponed the filming of “Blitz” by two weeks as McQueen underwent a surgery to eliminate the tumor. Thankfully, McQueen shares that he is now completely well and back in action.
McQueen preferred not to share his medical condition and upcoming surgery with his co-workers during filming, as he didn’t want to unnecessarily concern them or disrupt their focus on the task at hand. In his own words, “I just wanted to keep moving forward.” This attitude mirrors my personality – I tend to be someone who simply gets things done.
In the year 2006, it was tragically reported that the director’s father, Philbert McQueen, lost his life due to prostate cancer. This heartbreaking event motivated McQueen to take up a role as an advocate for early cancer screenings.
The cancer’s gone and that’s down to early detection. Early detection means virtually a hundred percent success rate. Again, it’s a cancer that if you detect early, it’s totally survivable and curable… one in four Black men will get prostate cancer, and one in twelve Black men will die of prostate cancer. So for me, it was about preempting it. The fact that I was preempting the situation for years was, again, my saviour in that way. So, just preempt it and get it early.
Steve McQueen Wants to Raise Awareness of Prostate Cancer
McQueen chose to reveal his prostate cancer diagnosis and surgery experience to increase understanding about the disease. On November 14, exactly two years since his diagnosis, he addressed U.K. parliamentarians in the House of Commons to initiate a fresh campaign for Prostate Cancer Research named “Proactive For Your Prostate“, with the catchphrase “Every Man Deserves a Checkup“.
The event was jointly organized by David Lammy, currently serving as Foreign Secretary for the Labour Party, along with James Cleverly, a former Minister for both Foreign and Home Affairs, and Josh Babarinde, the Liberal Democrats’ representative in Justice matters. Additionally present were famous footballer Gary Lineker, renowned journalist and television host Claudia Winkelman, and popular actor and TV personality James Corden.
Previously, the filmmaker created a brief movie named “Embarrassed” in 2021 for Male Cancer Awareness. This film included concise conversations with Idris Elba, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Micheal Ward, and Morgan Freeman. Additionally, McQueen announced that he has a fresh short film for the “Proactive For Your Prostate” campaign, starring David Harewood, well-known from his roles in “Blood Diamond” and “Supergirl“. This new production is scheduled to debut around late November.
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2024-11-15 02:32