Finnian Garbutt's cancer journey began in mid-2021 when his barber noticed a mole behind his ear. He underwent three surgeries and a year of daily chemotherapy tablets after his diagnosis. During a pre-filming hair and make-up appointment for the BBC crime drama Hope Street, a big lump was found at the original mole site and was swiftly removed.
Garbutt landed a role in Hope Street, appearing as PC Ryan Power in 30 episodes. He is 28 years old and lives in County Antrim with his wife Louise, baby daughter Saoirse, and three dogs. In August 2024, two weeks before his daughter was born, he was told that cancer had been found in his liver and lungs and was incurable.
You go in for a continuity haircut, so that they can see what haircut that you’re going to have for the series. I got them to take a picture of the original mole site, and there was a big lump.
Earlier this month, Garbutt shared on social media that scans showed his cancer had progressed rapidly and he is entering the last stages of his life. He has posted about living with cancer on Instagram, sharing updates, behind-the-scenes photos, family snaps, post-surgery selfies, and pictures of chemotherapy tablets. The specific type of skin cancer Garbutt was diagnosed with has not been disclosed, and the exact date in August 2024 when he was told the cancer was incurable is unknown.
It is also unclear what his current treatment or palliative care plans entail, whether he is still working or has taken a leave from acting, and what the prognosis timeline or expected duration of the last stages of his life might be.
Two weeks before my daughter was born, they said that they’d found [cancer] in my liver and in my lungs, and it was incurable.
Unfortunately, the scans have shown that the cancer has progressed rapidly in my body and I am now entering the last stages of my life.
The whole thing has been totally crazy.
I’ve probably still not got my head around it all but I think for me, the important thing was that this was happening to me and not anybody else. So that’s kind of the way I’ve dealt with it.
It has been really tough. Anytime I get emotional about it, I just sort of think of that, because I wouldn’t want to see anybody go through this.