In December 2017, Brokenshire noted blood in his cough and underwent testing that discovered that he had early stage lung cancer. He had the upper lobe of his right lung removed at Guy's Hospital and returned to Parliament five weeks later. Brokenshire said that he wanted to end the social stigma around lung cancer because, like fifteen percent of people with the disease, he has never smoked. In January 2021, Brokenshire took a leave of absence from his ministerial post in preparation for a pneumonectomy.