Rod Stewart immediately went on with his life like normal after his cancer diagnosis in 2017.  The rock legend discovered he was ill at age 71 and had his wife, Penny Lancaster, alongside him as they were delivered the awful news. But once the doctors explained it, Ross sat expressioness, according to Penny, but then told her he didn’t want anybody to know. 

Penny, who  struggled with that decision, said in her book, Someone Like Me, that his plans were to wait and not tell people until they knew what was going on. 

They were told at the time that the cancer hadn’t spread, but they needed to do a lot more testing. Rod celebrated the news that it hadn’t spread by buying Penny a pair of peach sapphire earrings and a matching necklace. 

Penny said in her book that they operated as a team afterwards, but they still faced issues. 

Penny, who was desperate for information and was struggling with the secrecy of it all, said in her book that Rod was just “focusing on what’s ahead”, he wanted to keep working and moving. 

She explained that it was as though the cancer wasn’t happening for him and as treatment was happening, he was answering emails and scheduling his next tour. 

The rock legend even struggles now to acknowledge that he had been ill, Penny was the one asking the questions, looking into his treatment and progress, adding in the book that she “still remembers every single detail, right down to the amber scent of the candles burned in his hospital room”. 

In order to respect Rod’s wishes and keep the information to themselves, Penny had to cut off her support network.

She explained that eventually, she visited a doctor and went on anti-depressents after Rod’s illness combined with an appearance on Loose Women where she dicussed her previous sexual assault became too much for her. 

Penny needed the extra support to get her back on track, adding that they became her “safety raft” that she needed to get back to shore. 

At the time, Rod’s wife also saw a therapist to help overcome some feelings she had about Rod’s diagnosis, she explained in the book how she sobbed solidly for three hours” after that. 

Rod was eventually given the all-clear in 2019, two years after his diagnosis.