Jacquie Beltrao has given an honest and heart-wrenching account of how she is trying her best to stay positive after being diagnosed with cancer for the second time.
The 55-year-old Sky Sports presenter revealed to her 76,000 Twitter followers in June that the disease had returned and this time it is grade 3 – which means “fast-growing”.
It’s been a tough reality to come to terms with, not only for Jacquie but also for her husband Eduardo and their children, Amelia, 22, Tiago, 18, and Jorge, 17.
Jacquie’s most recent diagnosis comes six and a half years after she was treated for a small, grade 2 (slow- growing) tumour in her right breast.
Jacquie has spoken out about her incurable cancer diagnosis (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
The TV star had a mastectomy and five rounds of chemotherapy at the private Parkside Hospital in South-West London and her annual mammogram and ultrasound scan in January this year showed she was still clear.
However, then found the new lump which was the size and shape of a grain of rice, just below her right collarbone after injuring her shoulder doing yoga.
Jacquie has shared how thankful she is for the support of her family (Image: SkyJacquie/Twitter)
“I was lucky to find it. If I’d been any fatter, I wouldn’t have felt it and I would never have known about the cancer behind it until it was too late,” she told the Daily Mail.
“I couldn’t believe anything could have grown so quickly but I immediately called my breast surgeon, Anup Sharma, and asked if I could see him.
“Mr Sharma thought it was probably nothing to worry about, but when you’ve had cancer, nothing puts your mind at rest until you know for sure,” she admitted.
Jacquie admitted her cancer diagnosis was like ‘a living nightmare’ (Image: SkyJacquie/Twitter)
In the next 24 hours, Jacquie underwent a biopsy and MRI and PET scans – but sadly it wasn’t the good news she was hoping for.
She was told it was grade 3 – meaning it was much more aggressive than the first time – but despite being devastated by the diagnosis, Jacquie didn’t want to hide anything from her three children.
“I’m a very upfront person, I don’t pretend things are easier than they are — I don’t see the point,” she said.
Jacquie has bravely opened up about her health battle (Image: PA)
“When we had the results of all the scans, around two weeks after first seeing Mr Sharma, we gathered all together and I said. ‘I have stage 4 cancer – there is a 5cm mass behind my chest wall and cancer cells in my lymph nodes. It is not curable’.
“I cried a lot and I’m sure the kids cried a lot. I explained that there were lots of drugs in the cupboard for Mum’s cancer but the fact is, it could kill me and they have to be prepared for that,” she added.
Describing the past few months as a “living nightmare”, Jacquie admitted she has has been exhausted – both physically and mentally.
“I felt as though I was losing my mind or having a nervous breakdown. I was so self-absorbed, I didn’t have the capacity to think whether I was being a good mother or a bad mother,” she said.
Jacquie has got stage four cancer and previously fought breast cancer in 2013 (Image: Mirrorpix)
“The kids tried to jolly me along, but I couldn’t pretend everything was fine when I was devastated. And I didn’t feel I should have to pretend. Looking after me had to come above everything. I’m selfish mum now. I have to be.”
Jacquie was joined by her daughter Amelia for her recent interview, who explained she has ensured her mum is resting as much as possible.
“I had to focus on making sure this woman is OK. She became the sole focus of my life. I knew I’d do anything to make whatever was coming next more bearable for her,” Amelia said.
“When they told us Mum’s cancer had spread, I saw my dad cry for the first time.
“We have all become incredibly supportive of each other – my brothers haven’t argued and we give each other a hug when we pass in the kitchen. I have never felt closer to them.”
Jacquie was originally due to have 16 rounds of chemotherapy; but a scan after the eighth showed that the tumour had shrunk by more than 50 per cent and it was decided to stop the chemotherapy after the 12th session.
The TV host had her final chemo session last week and will now take palbociclib, a targeted drug that’s been shown to be effective in treating advanced breast cancer, which she will take with a hormone therapy drug, fulvestrant. They work together to slow the growth of the cancer.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
