How cancer can cause dyslexia as Martin Kemp opens up about experience on I'm A Celeb

Martin Kemp has opened up on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! about how he developed dyslexia after having an operation to remove a cancerous tumour.

Kemp, who is best known for being the bassist of Spandau Ballet, spoke in the newest episode of I'm A Celeb tonight (November 19) about how he had developed the learning difficulty after an operation.

Whilst much of the early days of this season of I’m A Celeb have seen a focus on controversy surrounding a supposed feud between Kelly Brook and Ant and Dec or the use of AI in a challenge, Kemp’s openness in speaking about his cancer experience is sure to resonate with viewers of the show.

It is not well known, but having a tumour removed can, amongst a number of health changes, lead to developing dyslexia later in life.

How does a tumour cause dyslexia as happened to Martin Kemp?

Martin Kemp opened up on I'm A Celeb (ITV)

Brain tumours specifically are what may lead to dyslexia in certain patients.

This is due to how the tumour may push down on the brain, even causing impacts on neural networks among some patients before they even get the tumour removed.

A study in Human Brain Mapping found that in 18 of 49 tested individuals with brain tumours, there were drops in their reading performance during surgery compared to pre-surgery. Right after the surgery was completed, this rose to 26 out of 49.

Whilst several returned to their baseline when contacted weeks later, five had more permanent reading difficulties as a result of the surgery.

This is caused due to damage to neural pathways whilst cutting out the brain tumour.

Martin Kemp opening up about dyslexia and surviving cancer on I’m A Celeb

In a discussion about reading Kemp admitted to being dyslexic, saying that when he reads ‘all the ends of the words jumble around’.

He went on to add: "Mine is from an operation, taking away a brain tumour."

These were removed in 1995 and he revealed that, when being required to wear a bald cap for a show at the time, it caused a commotion when people saw his head.

(ITV)

He said: “I could hear the whole of the make up wagon go quiet because you could see this lump on the back of my head.”

Kemp stated that the tumour had begun to grow into the bone and that he was having an operation within two days, stating they ‘zapped [him] with stereotactic radiation’.

He added: “For a while I lost everything, I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t see, I was a train wreck afterwards.”

Speaking previously about this, he revealed on his son Roman Kemp’s podcast the particularly serious effects it has on him.

He said: “My dyslexia, because it came from a physical thing that happened in my brain, it wasn't just about what I can read and what I can't read. It is about me finding my way as well.

“I have dyslexia when it comes to me thinking what street is in front of another street. That all goes back to the brain injury that I had, I can't help it – that maps app is a saviour to me.”