THE former Late Late Show host is having a difficult fight against his illness.
Kathleen Watkins, the wife of legendary broadcaster Gay Byrne, has revealed details of the difficulty of his cancer battle.
83-year-old Byrne was diagnosed with prostate cancer in November of last year and has been receiving treatment in the form of chemotherapy pills, sometimes up to 13 a day.
He told listeners to his show on RTE Lyric FM that he would be taking time off for treatment. He has been a mainstay on RTÉ television and radio for over five decades, most notably as the host of The Late Late Show for 37 years.
When asked whether her husband missed broadcasting, Ms. Watkins said: “Not really, I think if you’re not well, you’re not well.”
“And the weather has been so wonderful we’ve been able to get out walking. We walk every day. We’re always walking, always out. That takes a chunk out of the day, and it’s hugely enjoyable. You feel the better for it.”
Speaking about her husband’s treatment on RTE’s Today show with Maura and Daithi, where she was promoting her poetry and children’s book, Pigin of Howth, the 82 year old singled out the staff of St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin for praise; “I’d just like to say something about the oncology department which we deal with every two weeks now.
“It’s not an unhappy place. That may seem a very strange thing to say but it’s not. There is a lovely atmosphere there. There’s no sound or music of any kind playing, it’s very calm. They are just wonderful people and they are available to their patients all the time.”
Ms Watkins said that doctors have now moved him on to intravenous chemotherapy which she said is taking its toll on the broadcaster.
“He is going through a difficult stage at the moment. He had been on chemotherapy pills up to now, from Christmas. Then they decided he needed chemo drip treatment . . . we’re going to have that every two weeks up until January."
She outlined how the medication is affecting her husband’s moods: “It really drags them down; they feel up and down, hot and cold all kinds of different symptoms."
When asked about the difficulty of Gay's hair loss, She quipped; “All the Byrnes have lovely grey hair. I’m told it will come back. Maybe in January.”
