Tony Fenton has revealed he’s been forced off air by his bosses to fight cancer – despite his want to keep broadcasting.
The Today FM star told Goss.ie he won’t be back on air for his afternoon show until November after treatment for aggressive prostate tumours.
But the 52-year-old – who revealed he has tough days after his chemo – would have preferred to stay with his listeners for the next few months.
He told Goss.ie:Â “Days are good. When I come out of the hospital I have two or three bad days, where I have no appetite to eat.
Treatment: Tony is undergoing chemo for cancer | VIPIRELAND.COM
“Then that goes away and it’s back to normal. But I’ve got two more sessions to do at the end of this month and then at the end of next
month.
“Then I hope to be back on air in November. I’ve taken five months off because I want to get through all the treatment first and then come back.
“I actually don’t want to do that but bosses said, ‘Really, do. Take the time out, because you’ll need the rest. And there will days you do wake up and not want to get out of bed.’
“They were right, so I’ve been doing a lot of sleeping, which is why I look so fresh.”
Honoured: Tony as he recieved his award earlier today | IAIN WHITE
The “chuffed” DJ was yesterday honoured by being inducted into the PPI Radio Awards Hall of Fame, and admitted it really helped him during his treatment.
He said: “The phonecall really made my day – because that day I was feeling a bit low.” He added: “Staying on this long is an achievement.”
But Tony told Goss.ie that he wishes his parents were still alive to see his special moment.
He added: “It’s a fantastic day – I wish my parents were alive to see this. Because they supported me from the beginning.
Filling in: Tony’s slot is being looked after by Louise next week
“I’m lucky because I knew what I wanted to do since I was 15. Before leaving school my mum said, ‘What are you going to do?’
“Because most people want to work in a bank or wherever. But I knew I wanted to be on radio, I knew I wanted to broadcast.
“So I got stuck into the pirate stations when I was 17. It was so exciting because you weren’t supposed to be doing it.”
Currently Today FM is riding high after a haul of nominations for the annual radio awards – compared to a poor showing for 2FM.
And Tony feels that a lot of their success is everyone at the station truly caring.
Riding high: Tony loves how great Today FM is doing | VIPIRELAND.COM
He added: “Today FM is a fantastic radio station – it’s a happy place to work. We can’t wait to get in and it’s hard for us to leave.
“We really enjoy working there, and radio is about the people. And we have great people in Today FM.
“I really don’t think about 2FM, when I wake up in the morning the first thing I listen to is Today FM. It’s the station I listen to on the way to work and in work.
“I don’t really focus on any other radio station – because if you do, you’re not really focusing on what you’re supposed to be doing.”
