Feargal Sharkey reveals prostate cancer diagnosis
Feargal Sharkey has revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The A Good Heart singer has urged men everywhere to get tested, sharing that he was given the news after visiting his GP about a sore throat.
The environmental campaigner and former lead singer of punk band the Undertones said the health problem was "resolved" a year ago.
Speaking to the Daily Express, he shared: "About a year and a half ago, I randomly went to see my GP with a sore throat.
"So my doctor, being the beautiful, wonderful, awkward, cantankerous old man that he is, went: 'Oh Feargal, by the way, you're 65 now, I'm going to run the full battery of tests.'
"Two days later, it turns out, I began a journey which led to prostate cancer.
"Thankfully, that's all now been resolved a year ago. But here we are, had it not been for that random visit to my local GP, I would never have known that I was at that point carrying prostate cancer, and if it had not been seen to, it could have been a very different ending and a very different outcome to my life."
Sharkey was the lead vocalist of the Undertones in the 1970s and 1980s, and charted as a solo artist with hits such as You Little Thief in the 1980s.
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The findings, according to Pelizza and colleagues, challenge the common perception that more psychiatrists are urgently needed in prison, except for medication prescriptions, for which they caution that it is not always appropriate. The findings revealed that 63.1% of the inmates received at least one anxiolytic prescription, 20.3% received antidepressants, and 19.9% received antipsychotics. One third of the inmates received at least one psychiatric consultation during detention, averaging 1.4 visits per inmate per year. 'Even the visits we doctors make outside of prison often lead to a prescription of drugs because this is what the patient expects. This also occurs in prisons, where the request for drugs is often excessive compared to needs, and not only in cases of addiction. Prescriptions often have the purpose of reassurance and sedation to immediately deal with a new situation. 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It is not uncommon for someone to be deemed not criminally responsible in one case but responsible in another based on differing psychiatric evaluations. A promising initiative launched approximately 18 months ago in Ficarolo, Veneto, on the border with Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy, aimed to ease REMS waiting lists, reduce inconsistencies in psychiatric assessments, and improve the appropriateness of care. Psychologist Stefano Rambelli explained that the Criminological Profiling and Analysis Center (CePAC) is a facility dedicated to the observation and assessment of individuals with psychiatric disorders who have committed crimes. The multidisciplinary team at CePAC, a private facility accredited by the National Health System, assists court-appointed experts by observing individuals, up to a maximum of 20 at a time, over several months. 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Estimates of suicide in prisons vary depending on the source. According to the National Guarantor for the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty, which compiled data from penitentiary authorities, there were 83 suicides in 2024, compared to 68 in 2023 and 84 in 2022. However, Ristretti Orizzonti, a long-standing publication by inmates at Padua Prison, reported that 2024 saw 91 suicides. The magazine also estimated that total prison deaths from all causes reached an unprecedented 246 in 2024, up from 241 in 2023 and 212 in 2022. The psychological toll extends beyond inmates. 'Prison staff face the difficult task of balancing punitive, rehabilitative, and therapeutic roles, creating conflicting expectations and emotional strain,' Testoni explained. She has also studied suicides among prison officers, for whom it is difficult to obtain reliable data. According to Ristretti Orizzonti, 148 prison officers died by suicide between 1997 and 2018. Testoni led a qualitative study involving focus groups and semi-structured interviews with staff at eight prisons in northeastern Italy. The goals were to understand their perspectives, identify systemic challenges, and explore the need for more collaboration with external services. This study also highlights the urgent need for enhanced training, greater staffing, and improved infrastructure. 'We need to invest in radically new solutions, which currently do not exist. Whenever a mental health issue emerges in prison, external care pathways must be available, even for those already convicted. For prison officers, we must create opportunities for them to process the relational and emotional challenges they face, free from stigma. Mental illness is a kind of 'contagious' suffering,' Testoni concluded. Testoni also emphasized that community doctors should pay close attention to the mental health of people who have been in prison or work there. Fabio Turone is an Italian science journalist, founder of Agenzia Zoe, president of the Science Writers of Italy, and a board member of the European Federation for Science Journalism. He has reported for the BMJ , Nature , and Research Professional and was a 2016-2017 Knight Science Journalism Program Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston. Chiara Sabelli earned a PhD in particle physics in 2012 and later completed a master's in science communication at the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste. She has worked in science communication since 2017 and has been a journalist since 2019. She contributes to Nature Italy and Scienza in Rete.
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