Christine McGuinness has opened up on her mother Joan’s heartbreaking health battle after she was diagnosed with cancer in September.
The Real Housewives of Cheshire star, 33, and wife to Paddy McGuinness, 47, has a family history of breast cancer, so made the courageous decision to get tested for the BRCA (breast cancer gene).
Thankfully, the test came back negative.
“I’m just really relieved,” said Christine. “When I told him [Paddy] it was negative, he was over the moon and gave me a big hug and a kiss.”
But the last year has been an emotional roller coaster for Christine.
Devastatingly, Covid-19 restrictions made it far more difficult for them to be there to support her mother during treatment for HER2-positive advanced breast cancer.
Speaking to Daily Star Sunday, Christine said: “She found a lump during the first lockdown. The doctors said it was a cyst and didn’t even send her for an examination, even though there’s a family history there. So she left it.
(Image: Instagram/mrscmcguinness)
“A couple of months later the lump got bigger. She was feeling exhausted all the time so went back. A different doctor sent her for a scan the next day.
“She had a biopsy and was given a Macmillan nurse. Unfortunately, the results showed it was aggressive breast cancer and she needed to start treatment immediately.
“But now she’s doing really well. She had the lump removed, finished six months of chemotherapy and then did 10 days of radiotherapy. She’s carrying on with injections for the next two years which, unfortunately, can weaken her heart. But she needs them to prevent the cancer from coming back.”
Christine has two daughters with husband and Top Gear co-presenter Paddy and when asked about whether she worried their future health as a result of her own mothers diagnosis, she said: “Absolutely.”
(Image: LightRocket via Getty Images)
The couple have twins Penelope and Leo, 8, and Felicity, 4. All three children have autism and the couple are making a BBC documentary about the condition.
“As a mum I worry about my children anyway. But when there’s a condition like this in your family, you do worry.
“I feel better knowing I don’t carry the gene and I’m hoping they won’t either. The reality is, it can happen. But as time goes on there’s more research being done and treatment available.”
The past year has been anxious for us all but for Christine especially so.
“It’s been awful, because my mum’s been there for me through everything.
(Image: Daily Mirror)
“She was a single parent with three kids and she’s the strongest woman I know. She supported me when the children were diagnosed with autism – she was there at the end of the phone, and at the weekend she took the children to play centres or parks.
“She loves them and they love her, so being without her for a year was awful. Not being able to support her through a difficult time, when she’d supported me through mine…
“There was a level of guilt there I’ll never be able to get over. But she’s done it and, hopefully, she’s going to be healthier and stronger day by day.
Christine shared that she feared the worst for her mother and that Christmas was especially scary.
“She had a bit of a setback and was blue-lighted in an ambulance a couple of times. She’d woken up in absolute agony.
(Image: Instagram/mrscmcguinness)
“She couldn’t stand up and was struggling to breathe. They ended up taking her gallbladder out – it was nothing to do with cancer. Since then she’s been much better.”
The McGuinness family have really come together to support each other through their health worries.
Christine said if she had tested positive that: “I would have gone for a full mastectomy and reconstruction.
“But when it came to it, I might not have gone or I may have got upset and down. At the time I thought I need to do everything I can to make sure I’m around as long as possible for the children.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
