Sir Ian McKellen speaks of prostate cancer shock Sir Ian McKellen has told how he feared the worst when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The 73-year-old Lord Of The Rings and X-Men star has had the cancer for "six or seven years." He told the Daily Mirror: "You do gulp when you hear the news. It's like when you go for an HIV test, you go 'Arghhh, is this the end of the road?' They say you have cancer of the prostate and then that you can have it zapped. You can have it snipped but you are not a candidate for that. You are waitful watching," the actor, who is also a campaigner for gay rights, told the newspaper. Sir Ian, who reprises his role as Gandalf in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, added: "When you have got it you monitor it and you have to be careful it doesn't spread. But if it is contained in the prostate it's no big deal.