Federal Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has been praised for being “very brave” after revealing he will undergo surgery for prostate cancer.
The one-time deputy prime minister, who comfortably won his regional NSW seat of New England in Saturday’s election, revealed his diagnosis on Sunday.
Joyce, 58, received the diagnosis following a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test.
The test came back with an elevated result, and a subsequent MRI and biopsy revealed he had prostate cancer.
Joyce, who will have the surgery on Monday, told Seven’s Sunrise program he kept his diagnosis quiet until after the election.
“I waited until obviously after the election—I didn’t want a big circus going on,” he said.
“Literally, straight after this ... I’m going ... straight down the road and straight into surgery.”
Joyce said he felt fine, before noting that was normal with a disease like prostate cancer.
“You don’t feel bad, you go to the toilet a bit more than you should,” he added.
Federal Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek praised Joyce for going public with his diagnosis.
“It’s very brave of Barnaby to share his experience,” she told Seven.
“I really do think that having high-profile people like Barnaby talk about their health challenges is really important to encourage other men to get the test.”
Plibersek noted that Labor Party national president Wayne Swan, 70, was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the age of 48.
“Wayne had surgery decades ago and his health is terrific,” she said.
Prostate cancer was generally very treatable if caught early, Joyce noted.
