Seinfeld star Michael Richards, 74, reveals secret prostate cancer battle that would have left him 'dead in about eight months' without surgery

Seinfeld star Michael Richards has revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the summer of 2018 in his upcoming memoir Entrances and Exits.

The 74-year-old actor detailed finding out he had stage 1 prostate cancer in an excerpt of his book, obtained by People, after a routine checkup showed high PSA levels - candidly revealing that he 'would have been dead' had he not undergone surgery to remove his prostate. 

'I thought, "Well, this is my time. I'm ready to go,"' he told the outlet of his initial reaction to the news. 'But then my son came to mind just a few seconds later and I heard myself saying, "I've got a 9-year-old and I'd like to be around for him. Is there any way I can get a little more life going?"' 

After undergoing a biopsy, Richards, who reunited with his Seinfeld costar Jerry Seinfeld earlier this month, said his doctor recommended immediate surgery to remove the entire prostate. 

'It had to be contained quickly,' the California native stated. 'I had to go for the full surgery. If I hadn't, I probably would have been dead in about eight months.' 

Seinfeld star Michael Richards revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the summer of 2018 in his upcoming memoir Entrances and Exits

The near-death experience inspired him to release his memoir, which he said made him do a 'full review' of his life. 

'I had over 40 journals I'd kept over the years,' Richards told the outlet. 'I'm turning 75, so maybe wanting to do that is something that comes with being my age.' 

While embarking on the journey of penning his own life story, the performer said he 'wanted to connect' with his feelings and memories. 

Ultimately, he joked that he was 'surprised' by 'how much' he 'was able to remember.' 

Richards did not hold back in the memoir and, even, wrote about his decision to stay out of the public eye following his racist rant at the Laugh Factory in 2006. 

'I was immediately sorry the moment I said it onstage,' Richards told People of his use of the N-word while firing back at hecklers during one of his stand-up sets. 'My anger was all over the place and it came through hard and fast.'

He continued: 'Anger is quite a force. But it happened. Rather than run from it, I dove into the deep end and tried to learn from it. It hasn’t been easy. Crisis managers wanted me to do damage control. But as far as I was concerned, the damage was inside of me.'

He noted that he's spent the past 17 years in 'deep analysis' to 'figure out where all the anger was coming from.' 

The 74-year-old actor detailed finding out he had stage 1 prostate cancer during the summer of 2018 in an excerpt of his book after a routine checkup showed high PSA levels, obtained by People , which comes out on June 4 (seen left in 1994 with his Seinfeld costars)

'It had to be contained quickly,' the California native stated. 'I had to go for the full surgery. If I hadn't, I probably would have been dead in about eight months' (seen in 2014)

Richards said that he believes his rage stemmed from his own insecurities and fears of not being accepted or wanted. 

While speaking of the incident in 2006, Richards insisted he is 'not racist' and has 'nothing against Black people.' 

'The man who told me I wasn’t funny had just said what I’d been saying to myself for a while. I felt put down. I wanted to put him down,' he explained.  

Richards pictured with his wife, Beth Skipp, in 2010

In addition to a 15-year-old son, Antonio, who he shares with Skipp, Richards has a daughter, named Sophia (seen in 1996)

Even while starring as Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld, Richards said he 'couldn’t connect to the joy of being an artist.'

'I was a good character actor, but I was comfortable being the character, not in being me,' he reflected.  

His insecurities even had him turn down 'the offer of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame' because he 'didn’t feel deserving.' 

'I said no to hosting Saturday Night Live twice because I didn’t feel good enough. I was never really satisfied with my Seinfeld performance. Fame magnified my insecurities,' the actor admitted. 

His memoir, Entrances and Exits, comes out on June 4.