Victoria Derbyshire revealed she ‘thought she was going to die’ as she reflected on 10 years since receiving the shock diagnosis in a new interview.
The BBC presenter, who is the face of Newsnight, was given the news by medics in 2015 just days after discovering how her right nipple ‘looked odd’.
Victoria, 56, underwent a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery soon after.
Following 301 days of treatment including six sessions of chemotherapy and 30 sessions of radiotherapy, the mother-of-two was given the all clear with an 11 per cent chance of the cancer recurring.
Cancer-free and marking a decade on from the life-threatening ordeal, Victoria told The Sunday Times magazine: ‘I thought I was going to die.’
Recalling the days and weeks after her diagnosis, Victoria took her family on holiday as she kept thinking it could be her final one.
Victoria Derbyshire has revealed she ‘thought she was going to die’ as she reflected on 10 years since receiving the shock diagnosis in a new interview
The BBC presenter, who is the face of Newsnight, was given the news by medics in 2015 just days after discovering her right nipple ‘looked odd’
Following 301 days of treatment including six sessions of chemotherapy and 30 sessions of radiotherapy, the mother-of-two was given the all clear with an 11 per cent chance of the cancer recurring (pictured in 2015)
She said: ‘When I didn’t know if my cancer was going to be treatable, we went on holiday to Barcelona.’
Victoria added that she took ‘a million pictures’ and insisted she had to be in them all, as she faced into her recovery.
The journalist, who lives in Surrey with her husband Mark and two sons, said she hasn’t changed the way she lives or eats and still drinks as she wants ‘to be normal like I used to be’.
She previously told how she didn’t want to tell her husband and sons about her diagnosis immediately as she went into ‘practical mode’.
Victoria will be on holiday with her family when the anniversary of her diagnosis takes place, and said she plans to a ‘big blowout’ celebration with them.
While Victoria is thankful her son Oliver vividly remembers the price of the hospital parking more than her health battle, she praised her husband Mark for his support.
She said: ‘He did step up, big time. Obviously while I was being treated he was basically a single parent.’
During her chemotherapy, he would sit with her and read the newspapers to her as she struggled to read at the time.
The journalist, who lives in Surrey with her husband Mark and two sons, said she’s not changed the way she lives or eats and still drinks as she wants ‘to be normal like I used to be’ (pictured in 2015)
Victoria will be on holiday with her family when the anniversary of her diagnosis occurs, and said she plans to a ‘big blowout’ celebration with them (pictured in 2015)
While Victoria is thankful her son Oliver vividly remembers the price of the hospital parking more than her health battle, she praised her husband Mark (pictured) for his support
Victoria finally married Mark after 17 years together in 2018 and stripped off on The Real Full Monty after being given the all-clear by doctors
Victoria lost her hair during her treatment and wore a wig because she ‘didn’t want people to feel sorry for her’.
It was her illness that spurred her decision to marry Mark after 17 years together in 2018.
He had proposed before she was pregnant with her first child – however the two never actually tied the knot.
Two years after beating the illness, Victoria stripped off for ITV’s The Real Full Monty and competed in I’m A Celebrity in 2020.
In January 2020, it was announced that the broadcaster’s eponymous show was being cancelled by the BBC because the cost of doing it on a ‘linear channel’ were too high.
Victoria says that while she was ‘gutted’ the show had been axed, her battle with breast cancer gave her a ‘different perspective’ and allowed her to cope with the loss of her show.
