West End actor Jarryd Nurden is opening up concerning the terrifying and life-altering health crisis that almost ended his profession and price him half of his lung. The KwaZulu-Natal-born performer, who has chased his dream of acting on London’s most iconic stages since childhood, endured months of hospitalizations, multiple invasive surgeries, and a devastating cancer diagnosis before fighting his way back to the highlight. Just six months after undergoing a significant lung operation, Jarryd Nurden has returned to the West End stage, a comeback that after felt unimaginable.
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Jarryd Nurden’s Dream Collapsed The Day Doctors Found A Growing Tumor
Nurden moved to London after selling his possessions to secure a visa, determined to make a reputation for himself within the West End. But his life modified dramatically when he was diagnosed with primary malignant neuroendocrine neoplasm of the lung (atypical carcinoid), a rare cancer that left him hospitalized for months.
“Once I had that phone call, that’s when my world crashed,” the 34-year-old recalled, per The Independent. “Up until that time, I had made plans on easy methods to survive, but because this was now taking me out of the image for God knows how long, I used to be like, ‘I’m properly screwed’.”
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Nurden had previously brushed off lung scarring discovered years earlier, believing it was leftover damage from a childhood drowning accident. But in January 2023, the identical day he learned he’d booked his first significant West End role in We Will Rock You, doctors informed him they’d discovered a tumor, one which had doubled in size since its last scan.
He begged doctors to delay surgery long enough for him to perform. “Please, can I do that show? I’ve literally just signed the contract this morning,” he remembered saying. “I’ve worked my whole life towards this moment… and I just can’t get it to be cancelled again.”
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‘The whole lot Just Slows Down, And You’re Like: ‘Oh, I Have Cancer’
After months of testing and keyhole surgery in August 2023, doctors confirmed the tumor was cancerous. “That phone call I’ve at all times described as being underwater,” Nurden said. “The whole lot just slows down, and also you’re like: ‘Oh, I actually have cancer’. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I work really hard. How’s this happening?”
Even after surgeons removed the tumor, cancerous cells remained. The alternative was brutal: chemotherapy and radiotherapy, or a whole lobectomy, the removal of the whole lower lobe of his left lung. Nurden selected the surgery.
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Jarryd Nurden’s First Major Operation ‘Went Really Incorrect’
In October 2023, Nurden underwent a lobectomy. But what must have been a life-saving procedure became a nightmare. “Recovery was really hard, because the primary open surgery, the most important one, went really flawed, with a lot of complications,” he said. “I believe it was touch and go at one point. After which I just wasn’t recuperating. It was happening for 4 months within the hospital.”
He required a second open surgery to clear infections. “It was hell,” he said. “No words will have the ability to explain all of the low emotions I felt in those 4 months. Immense fear that I used to be never going to bop again or sing again. Numerous negatives, a lot of pain. I’ve never experienced a lot pain in all my life.”
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With financial help from the Actors’ Trust, Jarryd Nurden stayed afloat while adjusting to life with half a lung, a chest drain, and months of forced rest.
He Turned Down ‘Chicago,’ But Fought His Way Back Just In Time For Their Next Offer
In early 2024, Jarryd Nurden had to say no a proposal to hitch the international tour of “Chicago.” He was recovering from surgeries, infections, and ongoing issues with a chest fistula. A July 2024 operation inserted stents, one other painful step toward recovery.
Two months later, Chicago reached out again for his or her September run in China. “I’m going to simply try my best. That’s all I can do,” he told producers, not knowing if he’d even be physically capable.
Just three months after his last surgery, he was back onstage, covering the role of Mary Sunshine. “I used to be really happy with myself for having a lot courage, but there was no alternative as well,” he said. “It was do or die. These are the cards that you simply’ve been dealt, and also you play them and also you’re going to play them to the very best of your ability.”
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He flew to China, did a one-day rehearsal in London, landed abroad, rehearsed for 2 hours, after which performed in what he described as “the tightest clothing as well!”
Jarryd Nurden Says Taking His Bow Was Overwhelming
The moment Jarryd Nurden stepped back in front of an audience was one he’ll always remember. “That bow I took, it was an immense gratitude,” he said. “It was just a lot gratitude for being back on stage, being in a show that I like a lot, being with such a supportive company.”
“I used to be really proud,” he continued. “I believe if you undergo something very life-changing, you stop sweating the small stuff… You regularly hear people discuss how their lives have modified after they’ve had major traumas occur to them, and also you don’t often relate, but I can very much relate now.”