For the past year Vincent Pastore has been battling prostate cancer and he has finally decided to go public with it.

The Sopranos star was diagnosed with the disease in March, 2013, but kept it a secret because he feared the possibility of losing a role in Woody Allen’s stage adaptation of Bullets Over Broadway.

In July, 2013, he had a surgery and underwent radiation treatment while attending rehearsals for the play.

Speaking to New York Daily News, Pastore said: “I told play director Susan Stroman that if she had to get rid of me, to just get rid of me. Instead she started to cry. She hugged me and said, ‘I will never get rid of you.’ It was an amazing moment that gave me the strength to work even harder.”

He added: “I kept setting goals for myself during this illness. First, make it through rehearsals. Then to previews. I did that. Then to opening night. I did that. Then to 100 performances, a big deal on Broadway. Now I wanna make it to my 68th birthday, July 14th. Now producers are talking to me about maybe taking Bullets Over Broadway to London… Now I can officially say, ‘Ok, I’m a proud prostate cancer survivor.’ I feel great…”

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