Kirsty Shires is a salaried GP, GP mentor/coach and appraiser in the West Midlands
I first came across Mark Steel when he came to my home town to do his “Mark Steel’s in town” Radio 4 show in 2008. I liked his gentle mocking of local foibles and how he doesn’t shy away from pointing out certain absurdities.
I heard about his head and neck cancer from a post of his on Twitter in the Autumn of 2023. It resonated with me (I also knew someone in the midst of being diagnosed and treated for cancer). As a GP myself, this helped my understanding of both where our health system works well, and where it has its own absurdities.
The shared human experience… makes it a compelling and worthwhile read… both those affected directly by cancer or friends and relatives caring for them.
So I was curious to know more when I saw that Mark Steel had written a cancer memoir, “The Leopard in my house”. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author himself. As he is a broadcaster and comedian I found his narration really added to my enjoyment of the book. He provides a candid account of his cancer journey; from noticing a lump in his neck, reticence of seeking medical attention, consequences and complications of treatment and the impact on his relationships and work.
His encounters with various health professionals along the way are told with both humour and understanding. He doesn’t pretend that the NHS is perfect but he seems to manage to describe the shortcomings with equanimity; recognising the difference between good intentions of the people within the system versus the sometimes unintended consequences of the processes. His initial biopsy going missing is surely unforgiveable, and yet he does forgive.
He conveys the messiness of the treatment journey with detailed description – there is a lot of saliva involved! His nasogastric tube experience also hit home with me and demonstrates how important the clinician understanding what the patient needs to know and how to reassure truly is.
This is a very human book, told by a bloke who, like many of us, didn’t expect to have to find the reserves within himself to deal with his experience. It reminds us of our shared suffering and he talks openly of how a cancer diagnosis in particular conjures up our fears of death and dying. He turns to Stoicism and the meditations of Marcus Aurelius but with feeling rather than intellectualism.
…in order to care for the patients, the carers need to be cared for themselves.
I was moved by his observations about the effect of his illness on his relationships. The support he found from his son in particular, but also messages he received from unexpected sources too. I appreciated his honesty about how overwhelming the support can feel at times and his understanding that finding the “right” words can be difficult but it’s ok for friends to try rather than being too afraid to reach out.
His deep appreciation of the NHS comes across and he reminds us that we’re fortunate to have a healthcare system that means his cancer treatment didn’t cost him anything to receive. But the treatments have other costs too – for example to his livelihood (his voice being his main tool). He expresses his despair for a self-employed taxi driver calling into a radio show saying that he isn’t going to have radiotherapy as he can’t afford to take the time off. He wants to reach out and tell the man to contact Macmillan to see what financial support is available.
What he mostly recognises in the NHS are the human beings that enable it to function. I was particularly moved that he highlights “Intelligent kindness”1,2 and the fundamental truth that in order to care for the patients, the carers need to be cared for themselves. If only policymakers could set this at the heart of all we do in the system.
The shared human experience is what came across to me in the book and makes it a compelling and worthwhile read which I think would help support both those affected directly by cancer or friends and relatives caring for them.
Featured book: Mark Steel; The Leopard in my house; Ebury Press 2025 ISBN 9781529941029; 320 pages £22.00 hardback (paperback out in February 2026).
References:
1. Campling P. Reforming the culture of healthcare: the case for intelligent kindness. BJPsych Bull. 2015 Feb;39(1):1-5. doi: 10.1192/pb.bp.114.047449. PMID: 26191415; PMCID: PMC4495825.
2. Ballatt J, Campling P, Maloney C. Intelligent Kindness: Rehabilitating the Welfare State. Cambridge University Press; 2020:i-i.
Featured photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
