30 August 2023 , 12:49
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Sarah Beeny praised the NHS and said she felt 'lucky' to live in the UK after being diagnosed with cancer. One year after her diagnosis, the beloved TV presenter provided an update on her health while appearing on BBC Breakfast on Monday.
The 51-year-old underwent a double mastectomy and treatment after receiving her breast cancer diagnosis in August last year. "I'm really lucky. I had a very lucky diagnosis, I'm lucky to live in the UK and I'm lucky have the NHS," she admitted. "Lucky to be the age I am, so many things I'm grateful for to be honest. I was diagnosed with cancer a year ago, and honestly it didn't really change me at all."
Sarah gave an update on her cancer diagnosis one year on (BBC)Sarah opened up about the mental effects after her diagnosis, adding: "I mean it did obviously, because I had to go through treatment. But I would hate to think I'm a different person now. I'm probably a lot less nervous of cancer now, because it was like the big bad wolf and now I'm like you just deal with it.
"The earlier the diagnosis the better the outcome so you just need to get to the doctor quick. Treatment is amazing compared to 40 years ago and in 40 years time it really will be nothing. I feel quite fortunate that I've opened that box of demons and had a look inside. I mean they're not exactly pretty but I can shut it now."
She announced her diagnosis in an interview with The Telegraph, admitting fears she would always be diagnosed with the disease after the death of her mother Ann aged just 39 when Sarah was just 10-years-old.
Sarah Beeny issues breast cancer update from hospital and shows off 'tattoos'
Sarah admitted it was her children, Billy, 18, Charlie, 16, Rafferty, 14, and Laurie, 12, shared with her husband of 19 years Graham Swift, that provided the most motivation for their mum to go public with her cancer diagnosis in 2022.
Sarah revealed her diagnosis in The Telegraph last year (Instagram)
She underwent a double mastectomy and treatment (the_entitled_sons/Instagram)It was in her deeply personal Channel 4 documentary Sarah Beeny vs Cancer that she admitted 'living in fear'. "I'm just not gonna die, you do know that. I've got a whole life. I need it. I've got four children. People need their mother. The truth is, I kind of needed my mother," she said.
At the end of the documentary, Sarah signs off with an uplifting message for other people diagnosed with the debilitating disease, saying: "The chances of surviving breast cancer have doubled in the past 40 years, and that only gets better and better the more that is understood.
"So many people are so scared. It's that fear that keeps a lot of people away from going and checking things out and getting treatment. So trust your body and go and get it checked out at a proper breast clinic.
"If you get the diagnosis that I got eight months ago, my message would be, just, don't be afraid. Because amazing people are doing amazing things and the outlook is getting better every day."