Elon Musk's father, Errol Musk, opens up on his battle against prostate cancer
Credit: X
For the first time, Errol Musk, father of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, has spoken about his prostate cancer diagnosis. The retired engineer from Cape Town, South Africa, shared his experience while supporting the Mail's campaign for a national screening programme.
Errol, 79, had no symptoms of prostate cancer when doctors discovered it during routine blood tests for an unrelated condition. Speaking in England, he told the Mail: 'I feel lucky to be alive and feel fortunate my tumour was caught early, while it was still treatable - but there are so many men who are not so fortunate.'
Recounting the diagnosis
Errol said his elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) level was first flagged in February last year during a routine checkup following open-heart surgery.
'A few years ago, I went for a flying medical and the doctor rushed me to a cardiologist, and I had an open-heart operation as a result of that,' he said. 'I keep going back for checkups and so on. I'm all right, I had a valve repair, replacement, in my heart.''But when I went for my checkup at the beginning of last year, they said to me, with the many blood tests they do, that I had a raised PSA.
Not particularly raised, but it was raised.'
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In a video interview shared exclusively with the Mail by his friend Avi Lasarow, Errol recalled the blunt manner of his diagnosis. 'I always thought when you go into see a doctor and he's going to tell you that you have cancer, that he first tells you to sit down, and maybe offers you a cup of tea and asks you, if you're comfortable, if you'd like a cushion? They don't do that. You've barely sat down on a hard bench chair, and they've said: 'You have cancer!''
Undergoing surgery and recovery
Errol recounted the discussion with his doctor: 'After seeing the urologist, he said to me I have cancer of the prostate.
I said: 'Well, what now, you know?' He said: 'Well, we can remove the prostate, and then we have to see what's left.' So, I agreed and I went for this operation and they removed my prostate and also all the lymph nodes on the right side, they teared that all out as well.'
'The biopsy showed that the prostate was carcinomas. It wasn't a question of leaving it. It was a case of stopping the cells from spreading. So, it was definitely the right decision in terms of maintaining my life.
They didn't suggest to me that there was an alternative. They said you must have this removed. And as I've been going back, I don't seem to have a problem at this point.'
Errol had the operation in July 2024, cancelling a planned overseas trip. Around that time, Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt, and Elon Musk publicly endorsed Trump for president.
Sharing the news with Elon Musk
Errol said he broke the news to his son via email. Elon's reply: 'Sorry, dad - whatever it costs, I'll pay.'Recovery
was challenging for Errol. 'For the first six weeks, I actually felt pretty awful. You feel no strength. Your body feels weak, your legs weak, you just feel old, and you don't feel very good. The doctor said to me it would take 12 months after the operation before I felt all right. But I started to feel ok after three months.
I'm much better now, and I'm looking forward to getting to the 12 months.'
Looking ahead, Errol plans to launch Musk Health Systems, a DNA testing service focusing on longevity and screening for genetic predispositions to illnesses such as prostate and breast cancer. DNA testing, he believes, can guide treatment decisions and help relatives identify their own risks.
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