Paul ‘Kenty’ Kent has opened up for the first time about how he discovered he had throat cancer, revealing he initially dismissed the warning signs as jet lag.
On Tuesday, the 56-year-old NRL reporter, who currently hosts the Kenty Blitz and Kenty Primetime podcasts, told listeners he began feeling unwell late last year after returning from a work trip to England.
The veteran sports journalist had been covering the 2025 Rugby League Ashes Tour from October 25 to November 8 when he first noticed something wasn’t quite right.
“I went away on the Kangaroo tour, had a good time, got cancer, wasn’t so good,” Kenty told his co-hosts Warren Livingston and Steve ‘Chimes’ Gillis.
Going into further detail, Kent explained he felt unusually fatigued after returning home and assumed it was simply the effects of long-haul travel.
“I thought I just had jetlag for 10 days or whatever from when I was over there,” he said.
“And then I got home and thought I had jet lag from that too. But then one night I was just scratching my neck and found a lump.”
Kent contacted his doctor after discovering the lump, which he described as “not being sore”, and was sent for further testing.
A biopsy later confirmed the presence of cancer.
During the discussion, it was pointed out that in a previously filmed podcast episode with former professional footballer Jason McAteer, the lump on Kent’s neck was visible on camera.
“Yeah, I’ve got a few in there now,” Kent replied, referencing the swollen lymph nodes in his neck.
“That’s (the cancer’s) secondary- it’s travelled to there. It started in the back of my throat.”
It is understood Kent began treatment last month and is currently receiving care at Sydney’s Chris O’Brien Cancer Treatment Centre.
He revealed he will undergo radiation on his neck five days a week.
While Kent said his prognosis is “pretty good”, with a four-out-of-five survival rate, he admitted the road ahead would be challenging.
“It’s going to be a tough couple of months,” he said.
“This is not something I really wanted to talk about… These days, everyone wants to tell you everything about themselves… I’m from a different generation.”
However, Kent explained he felt compelled to speak publicly because his treatment will overlap with the start of the NRL season, and he is unsure if he’ll “be able to talk”.
He also revealed he is likely to experience blisters and skin peeling from radiation treatment, which may make appearing on camera difficult.
“But I’ll be back as soon as I’m healthy,” Kent said.
“I’m not looking for anything from anyone. I am basically just doing this as a disclosure thing as for why I might not be around for round one.”
Despite the diagnosis, Kent struck a confident note about his recovery.
“I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I just think I’ll be okay mate. I don’t think I’ll be that one out of five that doesn’t make it. I don’t think that’s going to be me.
“I’ve just gotta get through it my way. I’m very confident I’ll get through it.”
Kent added that the rugby league community has rallied around him since news of his diagnosis emerged.
“Rugby league people are good-Â they rally around when one of their own is in a bit of trouble,” he said.
Kent previously co-hosted Fox Sports’ NRL 360 and worked as a journalist for The Daily Telegraph.
He departed Fox Sports and News Corp Australia in 2024 following an investigation into his involvement in a brawl outside a Sydney inner-west restaurant.
He was also found not guilty of an alleged domestic assault relating to a separate incident in Sydney in 2023.