‘Didn’t want a big circus’: Barnaby Joyce shares candid insight after revealing secret prostate cancer fight

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has shared a revealing insight into a troubling symptom he was enduring before being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has shared a candid insight into the symptoms he was experiencing before beingdiagnosed with prostate cancer.

Speaking to Sunrise on Monday, Mr Joyce said the “problem” with prostate cancer was he wasn’t feeling “bad” before his diagnosis, which was “the problem with prostate cancer”.

However, there was one giveaway that indicated something was wrong.

“You go to the toilet a bit more than you should,” he said.

The Nationals MP, who is set to undergo surgery on Monday, told the Sunrise hosts he “waited ‘til the election was over” before he made the announcement in an effort to keep the focus on the polls.

“I didn’t want a big circus going on during the election, which inevitably would happen,” he said.

Before checking into surgery on Monday, he confessed he was bogged down with another issue – a flat tyre.

“I’ve got a flood tyre on the truck,” he told the morning program.

”I will fix that up, then going straight down the road and straight into surgery.”

Barnaby Joyce during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Mr Joyce was quietly preparing for cancer surgery on Saturday night as his supporters were celebrating his New England seat retention, the ABC reported.

He received the diagnosis following a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test, he said.

“I had a PSA test, which all men should get,” he said.

Mr Joyce said he returned an “elevated” result, leading to an MRI and biopsy before his diagnosis.

“Prostate cancer, if you get it early, is very, very treatable; in fact, about 97 per cent successful,” he said.

“So I’m very blessed and lucky to discover this early.

“I’ll have the operation on Monday and I will then have a couple of days in hospital and will recuperate after that.”

The maverick MP says he is positive about his prognosis, and again said he is “very lucky”.

“If I thought it was very serious, of course I’d resign, but my doctors or surgeons say, ‘You’re very lucky you’ve got it early.’”

The Nationals MP is undergoing surgery on Monday. Picture: Dan Peled / NewsWire

Mr Joyce said he is confident in his capacity to continue in this MP role, and urged other men to get tested.

“I was lucky because I’ve got a very diligent general practitioner,” he said.

“She insisted on me getting a PSA and wasn’t I lucky that she did that, because otherwise we’d be having a different conversation in a couple of years’ time.”

The MP was confident about his decision to keep his health matters private during the election campaign which he described as a “welcome distraction”.

“I just didn’t want to distract from the campaign,” he said.

“I knew it would turn into a bit of a circus.

“I wanted the campaign to focus on the campaign and I didn’t think this issue needed to be a part of that.”

Originally published as ‘Didn’t want a big circus’: Barnaby Joyce shares candid insight after revealing secret prostate cancer fight