Holly Willoughby couldn't hide her sympathy for one of the callers who phoned This Morning for advice today. The presenter was back at the helm of the ITV daytime show on Tuesday (September 27) alongside Phillip Schofield.
They were joined by the show's resident agony aunt Deidre Sanders but instead of her appearing just for her usual phone-in, she sat on the famous sofa to chat to the hosts about her own diagnosis after discovering she has cancer. The 77-year-old revealed her health diagnosis in her column for The Sun.
She explained how she sought advice from her GP over the summer after she started 'feeling achy' and after realising that the tension she often feels in her shoulders had spread to her right breast. Two weeks before going on holiday, she spoke to a doctor about her concerns, before seeing an advanced nurse practitioner in person.
A mammogram and an ultrasound scan showed that something wasn't quite right and she was booked in for a biopsy straight after her trip away, discovering that the cells were malignant. Deidre explained how she has tiny carcinoma, a cluster of malignant cells in a duct in her right breast and that she is set to undergo a lumpectomy this Saturday.
Deidre also explained how she missed out on having a breast screening for almost a decade as she was among a cohort of several thousand women who, by error, did not get invited for a mammogram when they turned 70. Members of the public aged 71 or older, are not automatically invited for breast screenings.
However, they can request one once every three years by contacting their local breast screening unit for an appointment. "Your automatic call for mammograms stops when you are 70 and I think I got a letter a couple of years later saying I could ask for a mammogram if I want one," Deidre said to Holly and Phillip.
"I looked online and thought, 'Oh they stopped doing them then, it will be fine, I'm too old to need one now.' That was a big mistake to think that and what I want to say to women over 70 is, you have got a right to request the mammogram, so please request it." She added: "Do it, you have a free mammogram every three years and it is so worthwhile."
Deidre later returned to host a phone-in, asking to hear from viewers who may be dealing with a difficult diagnosis or worried about visiting the doctors in fear of what they may be told. Among those Deidre, Holly and Phillip spoke to was Annie who appeared upset as she spoke to the trio.
"Hi Anne, right so you've had pains in your chest and the left hand side of your back but you're scared to go to the doctors?" Phillip, 60, began. "Now, is this because you're terrified of what you might be told or you're embarrassed? What's the reason?" the host asked. "Yeah, I'm just terrified," Annie replied.
Deidre understood where Annie was coming from and advised her to confide in her partner and good friends. She also told her to set herself a goal of phoning up her GP by the end of the week. However, the advice clearly made Annie even more emotional and she was heard crying down the phone.
"Oh I can hear how upset you are," Holly, 41, said with a worried look on her face. As Deidre told Annie to stay on the line so they could continue to talk off-air, Holly added: "I know, I know, oh I can't bear it."
"God, this is the reality isn't it?" Holly then added as Deidre responded: "I know, I mean there are people that are really, really frightened. And also, to be honest, we've also had some very distressing calls where people are dealing with death coming towards them down the track."
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