Penny Lancaster has opened up about her own secret battle(Getty)

Penny Lancaster has opened up about a deeply personal struggle she kept hidden for years, offering a raw and emotional account of what was happening behind closed doors while Rod Stewart fought prostate cancer. She reveals everything in her newly released book, Someone Like Me, which hits shelves today.

Rod Stewart received his prostate cancer diagnosis in 2017 after what was meant to be a routine check-up. While his health journey has been widely followed by the public, Penny discloses that in the beginning, Rod wanted the entire ordeal kept completely private.
He had discovered the cancer was aggressive, but insisted he needed time to process the news alone — before allowing anyone else into that frightening reality.

Penny has opened up about Rod’s cancer in her new book(Getty)

Penny recalls the days that followed as an “excruciating wait”, filled with silent fear and emotional turmoil. Rod tried to stay optimistic, speaking about future tours even while recovering from treatment, determined to focus on the road ahead.

But Penny was quietly falling apart.

The secrecy forced her to withdraw from her support system. She couldn’t confide in friends or loved ones, and the emotional pressure grew heavier with each passing day. In her book, she describes this period as one of the most agonising chapters of her life.

Not long after, she appeared on Loose Women, where a moment of vulnerability led her to speak openly about past sexual harassment she had endured. Penny now believes that moment unlocked a flood of emotions she had been burying for months.

But instead of relief, the days following the broadcast became even more challenging.

“I felt incredibly low, and my depression spiralled further,” she wrote. “I realised that to be strong for both myself and Rod, I might need some help too.”

Her GP suggested antidepressants, a step Penny initially resisted out of fear it would make her seem “weak.”
Looking back, she calls that reaction naive — recognising now that she desperately needed something to hold onto.

Eventually, she accepted the medication, describing it as a “safety raft” that helped her stay afloat until she could regain control of her life again.

Therapy became another lifeline.
Penny describes sitting in the therapist’s office, crying nonstop for three hours, as though a valve she had kept tightly closed had finally burst open.

For the first time, she allowed herself to speak her truth — the fear of losing Rod, the terror of her boys losing their father, and the loneliness of carrying a secret she wasn’t allowed to share.

Through her book, Penny Lancaster invites readers into the emotional reality behind the headlines — the fear, the strength, and the heartbreaking honesty of a family facing the unimaginable.