Debbie McGee reveals secret battle with breast cancer
26 January 2019, 08:07
The former Strictly Come Dancing star believes the disease was sparked by the death of beloved husband Paul Daniels
Debbie McGee has been secretly battling breast cancer.
The 60-year-old TV star revealed she underwent an operation to remove two tumours last week after doctors found cancerous tissue in her left breast following a routine screening.
The Strictly Come Dancing runner-up said she felt it was the heartbreak of losing beloved husband Paul Daniels, who died from a brain tumour aged 77, that triggered the disease.
She said: “Stress, I think caused mine. I've never been through the stress I've been through since I lost Paul.
“Grief hits you in so many ways you're not expecting. It's not all about sadness.”
Debbie was reportedly diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in October last year and had the affected areas removed earlier this month.
Speaking about her treatment, she said: ”They were talking about full mastectomy, taking flesh from my thighs. That was really scary given my dancing — and I was all on my own.
But made the decision to only remove the cancerous areas instead.
She added: “You think all the worst things. Are you going to be scarred being a woman? Am I going to be deformed and have a lumpy bosom?”
Widow Debbie opened up about the process, which ‘scared her to death’, admitting she felt ‘lost’ going through surgery without her late husband by her side for support.
“I thought, ‘This is a moment when Paul isn’t here with me’. It was much tougher to take.
“You’re very vulnerable in lots of ways that you weren’t before,” she said.
However, she counts herself as the 'luckiest person in the world' now she’s been given the all clear and says she’s sharing her story to encourage other women to get checked regularly.
