Presenter Sarah Beeny has shared that she's been diagnosed with breast cancer – the same illness her mum had died from when Sarah was just 10 years old.
Announcing the news, the TV presenter and property expert revealed that she has already started a course of chemotherapy, and will begin radiotherapy in the new year.
The Help! My House Is Falling Down star confessed that she did have 'a little bit of a breakdown' when she first found out, but has found overwhelming support in her family.
Advert
.png)
Sarah shares four children with her husband Graham Swift, who she has been married to for 19 years.
The mum-of-four revealed that it was particularly important to her to be open and honest with her children about her cancer.
To help her as she begins chemo treatment, her boys have even cut her hair off for her. Though, she joked that she wouldn't recommend letting four teenage boys cut her hair.
Advert
Speaking to The Telegraph, she said: "I'm lucky because I live in a family where we all talk.
"They just said, ‘You will be honest?’ and I said, ‘I promise you that I’m going to be around for a jolly long time yet. It’s going to be a bit difficult. But I promise I won’t lie.’ And I think they were OK once I said that."
On her sons Billy, 18, Charlie, 16, Rafferty, 14, and Laurie, 12, giving her a trim, she joked: "To be honest, I wouldn’t recommend getting four teenage boys to cut off your hair.
.png)
Advert
“Graham was trying to cut it nicely, but the boys – well, they’re not going to be famous hairdressers. They said I looked like Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones – I mean, she’s beautiful so I was sort of flattered, but my hair is now in some places about a centimetre long and in some places it’s an inch long."
Sarah also shared that a small part of her had been expecting to be diagnosed with breast cancer when she went for her hospital appointment.
That's because her mum had also had breast cancer, which eventually spread to her brain. She sadly died at age 39, when Sarah was just 10 years old.
When the presenter got her diagnosis from the nurse, she couldn't help but think of her mother.
Advert
"The nurse was so sweet and they were really nice to me but I thought, ‘You don’t understand. I have waited 40 years to hear those words.’ I knew I was going to hear it one day."
Despite the heartbreaking news, Sarah has insisted that she's still very lucky.
For one thing, doctors have already told her that there's an '80 percent chance of cure', and that her cancer is 'really treatable', while she praised the 'mind-blowingly brilliant' NHS staff at Yeovil District Hospital.
Advert
She said: "I’m lucky to have this type of cancer, in this place, at my age, with the support I’ve got around me."
Ali Condon