Music

Duran Duran Guitarist Says His Cancer Diagnosis Is a ‘Death Sentence’

‘CARRYING THIS GRIM REAPER’

“[I’m] trying to stay alive and live a life, which I am absolutely not giving up on.”

Duran Duran members (L-R) Andy Taylor, Roger Taylor, Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and John Taylor in New York on August 28, 2003.
Peter Morgan/Reuters

Duran Duran’s guitarist has described his advanced cancer diagnosis as a “death sentence” in an interview with People magazine published Wednesday. Andy Taylor, 61, publicly revealed in November that he has stage four prostate cancer, describing his condition at the time as “not immediately life threatening.” “As harsh as it is, it’s a death sentence,” Taylor said in the new interview. “So you sort of walk out of the hospital in a stunned silence, because you could never be prepared for ... you’ve got to start from the fact that it’s a slow burn, so it’s not going to take you quickly.” Taylor said he was diagnosed after noticing an “arthritic” pain while he was out jogging, and lumps in his lymph nodes. His father died of prostate cancer, he said, “So I thought this could be, and sure enough.” Taylor, a founding member of the band, said he’s trying to keep mentally and physically active as he’s “carrying this grim reaper of a weight,” adding: “[I’m] trying to stay alive and live a life, which I am absolutely not giving up on.”

Read it at People