Riverdance Legend Michael Flatley Reveals He’s Battling Aggressive Cancer, Had Surgery

Michael Flatley has revealed that he is battling cancer.

The 64-year-old actor, who recently starred in the spy movie Blackbird, posted the news on Facebook.

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He wrote: “Dear friends, we have something personal, Michael Flatley has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.

“He has undergone surgery and is under the care of an excellent team of doctors.

“There will be no further comment at this time. We ask only for your prayers and good wishes. Thank you Teamlord.

Last year, he told how he coped with malignant melanoma in 2003.

The dancer owes his life to the keen MTV viewer in America, who
helped to detect the first signs of malignant skin cancer.

Michael said, “So many people around me have had cancer and so many people I know have died from it.

“I myself was diagnosed with skin cancer and it was a very scary time.

“I sympathize with everyone who lies on this bed and faces the uncertainty of the future. This can be an intimidating place.

“I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. This was around 2003 and it was purely coincidental.

“We were at the fifth anniversary of Lord of the Dance in Las Vegas and I was interviewed by MTV,” he told the Sunday Independent.

“Someone watched the interview, brought it to the attention of my personal assistant and said, ‘Did you ever notice the brown spot on Michael’s face?’ I never even noticed it.

“I was advised to go and see. I did so, and the doctor immediately took a sample.

“The next day I was flying to Barbados and he called me and asked me to come and see him.

“I said I was leaving for the airport and would he mind if I called him when I got back? He said, “No, I need you to come immediately.”

“It was a little scary. I canceled the flight and immediately went to him.

“He said that if I let him go for a few more weeks, he probably couldn’t do anything for me.”

However, rapid treatment provided complete relief from melanoma and no side effects.

Michael said that his latest fear of cancer made him want to live every moment.

He said that it also fundamentally changed his views on wealth and
material values.

Doctors discovered he had melanoma on his face, and she was promptly cured.

He said: “If I was able to go to any lengths, it would intensify.

“And the value of friends, the value of loved ones – all of a sudden,
material things are gone.”

He told Russell Davies on BBC Radio 2: “My art and the people I
spend time with the things that I love the most right now.

“Cancer has certainly given me a huge amount of attention.”

Last year, the dance star responded to critics of his long-delayed Blackbird movie by revealing that a sequel is already in development.

In the spy thriller, a dancer from Chicago plays former MI6 operative Victor Blackley, who returns to the dark world of espionage he tried to leave behind.

Filmed mostly in Barbados but with opening scenes in Ireland, the film has become something of a Hollywood legend, not only because its star funded the project, but also because of the long delay in its release.

But Flatley seems to have the last laugh as he revealed that a sequel is already in the works.

He said about finally seeing the film on the silver screen: “It’s fantastic, I’m delighted. If I told you the number of people who told me it was impossible, I would lose count.

“You can’t do this. It’s impossible.’ But somehow, against all odds, we made it, and I’m glad we did.

“I’m delighted and very proud of the fact that we have a lot of actors who never had the opportunity and a few young producers, which is a good thing.”

Blackbird also stars Hollywood actor Eric Roberts, Robin Hood’s Patrick Bergin, Game of Thrones actor Ian Beatty, and Nicole Evans, whose credits include a role in the 2011 film Captain America: The First Avenger.