Back in 2009 Andrew Lloyd Webber underwent treatment for prostate cancer after the disease was caught in its early stages. In an interview for Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, the composer has spoken openly for the first time about his battle with the disease, which resulted in him having surgery to remove his prostate gland.
Andrew told Piers, “I'm a ladies' man who can never make love. I'm resigned to that. I did look into the alternative possibilities… I did go to the sex education clinic for people who have lost their prostates and the therapist was very sweet. She said, 'Ooh, but you can try Viagra, you can try all that and see if it works.’”
He then told Piers of the ‘gruesome’ devices he was shown, “She then produced this contraption, a sort of pump which, allegedly, was in some Austin Powers movie! I just said, ‘I can't use this thing!’ You just have to laugh.”
Despite the terrible ordeal Andrew is counting his blessings, “I have my music, I have my children. I am the luckiest man. If I'd left it, the chances are I'd be on chemotherapy now and it would be a nightmare. I regard it as great luck that I'm out the other side.”
A source told The Mirror, “It is an incredible interview, Andrew's most candid ever. He gets pretty emotional but refuses to shy away from Piers' questions. Revealing his sex drive was massively reduced, he admits prostate removal has left him unable to make love. Andrew has been told it is unlikely he will ever have sex again.
“He actually has a bit of a giggle when he chats about the possible solutions, and laughs off ideas he would resort to Viagra, penis pumps and any other stimulants. He discusses the whole thing with great humour. But also, in a moment of seriousness, he urges men to get themselves regularly checked.”
Piers Morgan's Life Stories with Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber will be shown on ITV1 at 9pm on 9th April.