ITV newsreader suffering from cancer holds 'boobs party' to celebrate her breasts before double mastectomy
Bridgid Nzekwu, who suffered from cancer as a teenager, was shocked to learn the disease had returned when she developed a tumour in one of her breasts.
But when she received her diagnosis, she resolved to take immediate action and decided to have both her breasts removed to minimise the risk of the cancer spreading.
The 42-year-old mother of one underwent her double mastectomy in April, and three months later has documented the harrowing experience in a diary published by the Sunday Times.
Soon after leaving school, Ms Nzekwu was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, and underwent a gruelling round of radiotherapy until she was given a clean bill of health.
She went on to develop a successful career as a newsreader for Channel 4 and then ITV, and had a son, Oscar, with her husband Martin.
However, last year she was told that a lump on her left breast which has previously been benign had developed into a malignant tumour.
Poignantly, it seems that the cause of the cancer was the high dose of radiation she received during her lymphoma treatment two decades earlier.
'I feel an overwhelming surge of panic,' Ms Nzekwu wrote of the moment her breast cancer was diagnosed. 'I can't get cancer again. I'm a cancer survivor not a cancer victim. Chemo, vomiting, exhaustion, baldness: that was another life.'
Because of her earlier radiotherapy, the newsreader had been exposed to the maximum dose of radiation considered safe over the course of a lifetime, meaning the only treatment option was the removal of the affected breast.
- Bridgid Nzekwu suffered cancer as a teenager and disease returned in 2012
- 42-year-old underwent double mastectomy to minimise risk of new tumour
- Before nine-hour operation she held a celebratory 'boobs party' with friends
Bridgid Nzekwu, who suffered from cancer as a teenager, was shocked to learn the disease had returned when she developed a tumour in one of her breasts.
But when she received her diagnosis, she resolved to take immediate action and decided to have both her breasts removed to minimise the risk of the cancer spreading.
The 42-year-old mother of one underwent her double mastectomy in April, and three months later has documented the harrowing experience in a diary published by the Sunday Times.
Soon after leaving school, Ms Nzekwu was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, and underwent a gruelling round of radiotherapy until she was given a clean bill of health.
She went on to develop a successful career as a newsreader for Channel 4 and then ITV, and had a son, Oscar, with her husband Martin.
However, last year she was told that a lump on her left breast which has previously been benign had developed into a malignant tumour.
Poignantly, it seems that the cause of the cancer was the high dose of radiation she received during her lymphoma treatment two decades earlier.
'I feel an overwhelming surge of panic,' Ms Nzekwu wrote of the moment her breast cancer was diagnosed. 'I can't get cancer again. I'm a cancer survivor not a cancer victim. Chemo, vomiting, exhaustion, baldness: that was another life.'
Because of her earlier radiotherapy, the newsreader had been exposed to the maximum dose of radiation considered safe over the course of a lifetime, meaning the only treatment option was the removal of the affected breast.
Doctors told her that she had a 25 per cent chance of developing cancer in the other breast too - and Ms Nzekwu immediately resolved to undergo a double mastectomy.
'My right breast is perfectly healthy, but there's no guarantee it will stay that way,' she wrote. 'To me it's a ticking time bomb. I know immediately I want a double mastectomy. I feel in a state of perfect clarity. The only thing that's important is to get this cancer out of me and do anything in my power to prevent it from coming back.'
Ms Nzekwu was racked by fears of not being there to see three-year-old Oscar grow up, and was acutely conscious that her own mother had died of cancer aged just 59.
Nonetheless, she was able to keep up a healthy demeanour, and even held a 'boobs party' with 30 of her friends, who gathered three days before the surgery.
She wrote: 'We toast my "departing assets" and the girls joke about how envious they will be of the new, tummy-tucked body I'll be rocking after the operation.'
Well more power to her for facing it head on good on ya 
And no I wouldn't be holding when the cock drops party.
yeah the gif ? I couldn't get a pic of the chick to load so if you wanna see what she looks like
to Bridgid for taken control of her own health and doing whats best for herself and her family! That takes alot of courage
to speak out and tell your life's story to try to help others! I wish you nothing but Good Health and Happy Future
