breast cancer

TRISHA Goddard danced with joy as she celebrated reaching 68 years old amid her terminal cancer diagnosis.

The TV legend shared a deeply personal and positive message for fans as she marked the milestone while living with cancer.

The veteran broadcaster appeared overjoyed in the video, which she captioned: “If dem ask me how me feel turning 68 today & living with metastatic breast cancer.”

The Celebrity Big Brother star has secondary breast cancer, also referred to as metastatic or stage 4 breast cancer. 

She is also living with Raynaud’s syndrome, a condition that restricts blood flow to the fingers and toes.

Raynaud’s can develop as a side effect of certain cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, and may cause skin colour changes along with sensations such as numbness or burning.

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Despite her health challenges, Trisha was in celebratory spirits as she looked ahead to Christmas week.

In the clip, she smiled, danced and proudly declared: “I made it!”

Reflecting on her diagnosis, she said: “When you first hear those words,

“‘Your cancer has come back’ and every time you look at the news, your eye seems to be drawn to the words CANCER and TERMINAL, you think that’s it.”

She went on to explain how perspectives on the illness have shifted.

She said: “But scientists and the Medical world have re-classified metastatic cancer to being a LIFE LIMITING illness, for good reason.

“New drugs, new treatments, new medical breakthroughs.

“There’s a whole list of people I’d like to thank.”

Trisha then paid tribute to those who have supported her throughout her journey.

She added: “My darling husband and kids.

“My fantastic Oncology team and nurses, my darling friends who haven’t ghosted me, and YOU out there.

“Your kind words, laughter and encouragement means I celebrate you all!”

Trisha was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer in 2023, having first got the disease in 2008.

She bravely opened up about the gruelling side effects of a “wonder drug” that she is taking to help prolong her life during her stint in the Celebrity Big Brother house.

I’ve stopped being scared before scans now.

“My cancer count has come down and down and down, this drug is working,

“But this new drug, that people hail as a wonder drug… what people don’t know, is it is one of the most vicious drugs to take.

Talking about the side affects she said: “(I get) Terrible constipation muscle aches, taste affected, eye sight affected.

“But if I hadn’t have had it, I wouldn’t be here, so it’s last call at the rodeo drug.”

Trisha was told three years ago her cancer had reached staged four.

However, she waited until last year to break the news of her terminal diagnosis.

ACTRESS Angelina Jolie bravely bares her mastectomy scars in solidarity with other women battling cancer. 

The Oscar-winning star, 50, showed the effects of her life-saving operation, when she had both breasts removed 12 years ago, in a bold photoshoot. 

She told Time France magazine: “I share these scars with many women I love. And I’m always moved when I see others share theirs.” 

Posing on the cover of the December issue in a low-cut jumper, with her hand covering her chest, the mum of six said she hoped the move would help raise awareness of the disease. 

The star had both breasts removed and reconstructive surgery in 2013 after finding out she has the BRCA1 gene mutation, which meant her chances of getting cancer were high. 

Following her double mastectomy, Lara Croft star Jolie also had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as a preventive measure. 

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She lost her mum, French actress Marcheline Bertrand, to ovarian cancer in 2007.  

Her grandmother and aunt also died from cancer. 

Jolie added: “Every woman should always be able to determine her own healthcare journey and have the information she needs to make informed choices. 

“Genetic testing and screening should be accessible and affordable for women with clear risk factors or a significant family history.”  

Jolie, who settled her eight-year divorce battle with ex Brad Pitt, 61, a year ago, is currently working on upcoming film Couture. 

In the fashion drama, she plays Maxine Walker, a US filmmaker diagnosed with breast cancer. 

Sarah typically works on Christmas Day. She has devoted countless Christmases to caring for newborns on the same emergency neonatal unit where her own baby was born prematurely this year

This is the heartwarming moment Sarah Alcock found out that her husband had nominated her for a once-in-a-lifetime holiday.

Christmas for the 35-year-old doesn’t tend to be spent tucking into a roast, opening presents and relaxing with the family.

In fact, Sarah typically works on Christmas Day. The Oakwood, Derby mum has missed out on many a festive day at home due to work nursing shifts at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, where her own baby was born prematurely this year.

Born at just 25 weeks, weighing 1lb 12oz, the eight-month-old will be celebrating her first Christmas this year, but with staffing pressures mounting, she has volunteered to step in again to help her fellow colleagues out.

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Her husband, Dave, a marketing manager, from Oakwood, Derby, wanted to recognise how hard Sarah works, so he nominated her to win a break with easyJet.

“She’s a hero. Her work doesn’t stop just because it’s Christmas, so she has to go there regardless of the date,” he explained.

Alongside Sarah, NHS nurse Nicky Starkowitz and care home manager Niccii Gillett, who also selflessly work every Christmas, were gifted holidays as part of a campaign by tour operator easyJet Holidays to recognise the UK’s hidden heroes.

Nicky faced a breast cancer diagnosis in August this year and tragically, her four-year-old son Raffi was also diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain cancer in March. Her husband Neil said: “With everything going on this year we haven’t managed to get away or get the opportunity to do anything as a family together.”

Nicky added that “just to go away somewhere, as a family, and have time away together would be so nice”.

The holidays are a special easyJet Holidays escape, to give recognised key workers quality time with friends and family in the sunshine. They have been gifted to Christmas heroes after new research by easyJet Holidays found over 10 million Brits will be spending time apart from their families due to work commitments this year.

Nearly a third (28%) of key workers also feel that they haven’t taken a proper break in the past year, with nearly a quarter (22%) not likely to have a choice over whether they can work on Christmas Day or not.

Matt Callaghan, Chief Operating Officer at easyJet Holidays, said: “At Christmas especially, we’re reminded how many people quietly put others first, often sacrificing precious time with their own families. Our key workers do this year after year, and our communities simply wouldn’t function without them.

“This is easyJet holidays’ way of saying thank you – giving a few of these Christmas heroes the chance to properly step away, rest, and spend quality time together, whether that’s in the sunshine or exploring a new city. It’s about recognising the people who give so much, especially at this time of year.”

The easyJet Holidays poll uncovered the professions we feel most grateful for at Christmas, with nurses, paramedics, care workers and delivery drivers among them.

Just under a quarter (23%) of Brits say they leave out a gift for the postal workers at Christmas, while over a fifth (22%) say they do the same for binmen.

Six in ten also say Christmas makes them feel more generous towards others, with 51% saying they compliment others more during the festive period, while more than three in ten (31%) check in with their neighbours.

Top 10 professions Brits feel most grateful for at Christmas:

1. Nurses (46%)
2. Paramedics (39%)
3. Doctors (38%)
4. Care workers (29%)
5. Firefighters (27%)
6. Police officers (23%)
7. Delivery drivers (22%)
8. Retail staff (20%)
9. Postal workers (17%)
10. Hospitality (16%)

Davina McCall broke down in tears when a patient on Channel 4’s Cancer Clinic Live asked how she was

Davina McCall met with patients at a cancer clinic in Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge as part of a special episode for Stand Up to Cancer.

In one emotional moment, Davina, who revealed she had breast cancer earlier this year, spoke to Stuart who was waiting to hear how their treatment was going.

Before they went into their appointment, Stuart asked Davina how she was doing since her diagnosis earlier in the year.

The TV presenter broke down in tears as she thanked Stuart for asking if she was okay: “Can I just say, thank you for asking me that after everything you’ve been through? I’m really good, thank you.”

It came after Davina opened the programme by recalling the moment she discovered a lump in her breast and her sister’s death.

She told viewers: “Earlier this year, I found a lump in my breast. It quickly led to tests and scans and then the word that no one ever wants to hear, cancer.

“It was found early and surgeons were able to remove it. But not everyone gets that chance. I took my sister Caroline to A&E, she fainted and she couldn’t get up.

“They gave her a brain scan but then they scanned her chest and I couldn’t understand why. It turned out it was late stage lung cancer.

“She died seven weeks later. I was holding her hand. And that’s why early diagnosis matters to me.”

In November, Davina revealed on her Instagram account she was “very angry” to discover she had cancer.

The presenter said the lump “came and went” but after seeing a poster urging women to check their breasts she went to the doctors.

“It [the lump] was still there, and then one morning I saw myself in the mirror and thought “I’m going to get that looked at”. I had a biopsy. I found out it was indeed breast cancer,” she shared.

“I think my message is: get checked if you’re worried. Check yourself regularly. If you are due a mammogram, then get it done.”

Earlier in the Stand Up for Cancer coverage, Amy Dowden became emotional as she spoke about how cancer had impacted her dreams of becoming a mother.

She shared: “A cancer diagnosis changes you forever… I’ve been put into menopause… I don’t know if I’ll ever have the honour of becoming a mum which I desperately want to… Five weeks ago I have another mastectomy.

“I’m so grateful for another shot of live, to be able get back on the dance floor… I’m so grateful for my medical team, the doctors and nurses who have kept me alive. A cancer diagnosis changes you forever, I’m no longer the person I was and that’s not by choice.”