MICHAEL Flatley has revealed he is battling cancer.
The 64-year-old, who recently starred in spy movie Blackbird, broke the news on Facebook.
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He posted: “Dear friends, we have something personal to share, Michael Flatley has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.
“He has undergone surgery and is in the care of an excellent team of doctors.
“No further comments will be made at this time. We ask only for your prayers and well wishes. Thank you. Teamlord.”
Last year he revealed how he dealt with a malignant melanoma in 2003.
The dancer owes his life to an eagle-eyed MTV viewer in America who
helped spot the first signs of a malignant skin cancer.
Michael said: “So many people who surround me have had cancer and so many people I know have died from it.
“I was diagnosed with skin cancer myself and it was a very scary time.
“I sympathise with anybody who is lying on that bed and facing the uncertainty of the future. It can be a frightening place.
“It was a malignant melanoma that I was diagnosed with. It was around 2003 and it was purely by chance that it was noticed.
“We were at the fifth anniversary of Lord of the Dance in Las Vegas and I did an interview with MTV,” he told the Sunday Independent.
“Somebody watched the interview and brought it to the attention of my personal assistant and said: ‘Did you ever notice the brown spot on the side of Michael’s face?’ I had never even noticed it.
“They advised me to go and have it looked at. I did and the doctor took a sample of it there and then.
“I was flying to Barbados the next day and he gave me a call 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 in immediately’.
“That was a little scary. I cancelled the flight and went straight into see him.
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“He said if I had let it go a few more weeks there was probably nothing he could have done for me.”
However the quick treatment ensured the melanoma was fully dealt with and left no side-effects.
Michael said his last cancer scare made him want to live every moment.
He said it also fundamentally changed his outlook on wealth and
material possessions.
Doctors discovered the melanoma on his face and it was promptly treated.
He said: “If I was in a position to go for everything, that intensified.
“And the value of friends, the value of loved ones — all of a sudden,
material things faded away into the past.”
He told Russell Davies on BBC Radio 2: “My art and the people that I
spend time with are the things that I love most now.
“Cancer certainly gave me tremendous focus.”
Last year, the dance star hit back at critics of his long-delayed movie, Blackbird — and revealed there’s already a sequel in the works.
The spy thriller sees the Chicago-born dancer playing former MI6 operative Victor Blackley who is drawn back into the murky world of espionage he tried to leave behind.
Filmed mainly in Barbados, but with opening scenes in Ireland, the film had become something of a Hollywood legend, not only because its star financed the project, but because of a lengthy delay to its release.
But Flatley appears to be having the last laugh as he revealed a sequel is already being worked on.
He said of finally seeing the film hit the silver screen: “It feels fantastic, I’m delighted. If I told you the amount of people who told me it was impossible, I’ve lost count.
“You can’t do it. It’s impossible.’ But somehow against the odds we did it and I’m glad we did.
“I’m delighted and quite proud of the fact we have a lot of actors in it that never had an opportunity and some young producers which is good.”
Blackbird also stars Hollywood actor Eric Roberts, Robin Hood’s Patrick Bergin, Game Of Thrones actor Ian Beattie and Nicole Evans, whose credits include a role in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger.
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