Richard Dimbleby - Death and Legacy

Death and Legacy

Richard Dimbleby died in St Thomas' Hospital, London, at the age of 52, from testicular cancer diagnosed five years earlier. In an interview with the Daily Mail, his son David confirmed that "treatment then wasn't as good as it is now, but he had testicular cancer which spread because he left it". Two weeks before his death, he presented a documentary on the links between heavy tobacco smoking and lung cancer. Dimbleby decided to admit he was ill with cancer, which, in those days, was a taboo disease to mention. It was helpful in building public consciousness of the disease and investing more resources in finding a cure. The Richard Dimbleby Cancer Fund was founded in his memory. Dimbleby was cremated, the ceremony receiving national publicity.