Welsh comedian Rhod Gilbert described his cancer as 'brutal' when he found himself being diagnosed with throat, neck, tongue and tonsil cancer in 2022.

Prof Mererid Evans was his doctor at the time, who has now revealed the difficult period Gilbert had to go through and highlighted his bravery.

Her consulting room at Velindre Cancer Centre, Cardiff, was thrown into the limelight when the beloved comedian decided to make a documentary about his treatment.

"Rhod wanted something positive to come out of his experience," said Prof Evans, 54, head and neck specialist at Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, a professor at Cardiff University's cancer and genetics division, and head of the Wales Cancer Research Centre.

"We talked about the treatment he'd be receiving and I think he felt it was an opportunity to highlight what it's like going through cancer treatment," she told the BBC.

The resulting Channel 4 programme, A Pain in the Neck for SU2C, followed Gilbert through diagnosis, treatment and the aftermath.

Prof Evans discovered the comedian's treatment was to be filmed a few days before it began.

"I don't think he knew before he started how impactful him recording his journey would be. I think it was something that he wanted to do for himself because this is what he does," she added.

"And he felt he could turn something that was a very difficult experience into a positive.

"I think that that's how he's reflected on having done it, that it's raised a lot of awareness and hopefully has helped people in a similar situation to him."

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Prof Evans tried to carry on as normal in her interactions during their consultations, despite having a film crew present.

Gilbert was treated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which Prof Evans called "particularly difficult" for head and neck cancer.

"When you have a tumour or cancer in the back of your throat, either in the tonsil or the back of the tongue or the roof of the mouth, when you try and treat that with radiotherapy, what effectively you are causing is big ulcers in the patient's mouth and throat that get worse over a six-week period," she added.

"The side effects are a dry mouth, lack of taste, ulcers that make swallowing very painful and difficult and sometimes requires feeding through a tube in the tummy as we saw [happen to him] in the documentary.

"I'm worried that the radiotherapy might seriously knacker my voice"

"Radiotherapy to the head and neck does cause some swelling and inflammation within the voicebox," she explained.

"It's not uncommon that people develop a hoarse voice during treatment, and that doesn't always improve. So that was a real fear, and that was clearly a big one for someone who makes their living by using their voice."

This was echoed by Gilbert in the programme.

One of the first things he said was: "I'm worried that the radiotherapy might seriously knacker my voice. I'm a stand-up, so this treatment could save my life, but kill my career."

He was eventually given the all-clear.