DAVINA McCall has revealed she has been quietly battling breast cancer – almost a year after undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumour.
Posting an emotional video on her Instagram, the Masked Singer star, 58, told fans she found a lump a few weeks ago.
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Posting an emotional video on Instagram, she told fans she found a lump a few weeks ago
It comes almost a year after she underwent emergency surgery to remove a brain tumourCredit: Instagram
Davina revealed she has been quietly battling breast cancerCredit: Getty
Speaking at a Dine with Davina event yesterday, she said the 4mm lump was removed and she was given the all clear.
The crowd at the charity bash – hosted at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton, Hampshire – gasped as she shared her shock diagnosis.
It comes almost a year after the mum-of-three underwent emergency surgery to remove a “very rare” brain tumour.
Speaking on stage, Davina told how she was working on the Masked Singer when she spotted a sign reminding her to “check her boobs”.
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After feeling the “tiny weeny” lump on several occasions, she then spotted it in the mirror and decided to get it checked.
She continued: “So I went and I got it checked. She (the doctor) was like, ‘No, no, you’re fine. You had a mammogram in August. It’ll be fine’.
“And I thought, oh, I’ll be fine. That’s great. But then she said, ‘Oh, well, if it is anything, we’ll do a little biopsy’.
“‘But if it is anything, it’s so small, you’ve got it early’. Anyway, I got the result back a few days ago. It was four millimetres, which is minute.
“There’s probably a few people in here that have had breast cancer. Four millimetres is very small and they take a bit of extra from the outside.
“They call them the margins, the margins were all clear. And they got all of it. I didn’t have to have any lymph nodes taken and I’m very lucky.”
Davina explained she will not undergo chemotherapy, but will be required to have five days of radiotherapy as a “insurance policy”.
She said her fiance and hairdresser Michael Douglas, 52, encouraged her to open up about how she was feeling.
Davina continued: “Because when I got it I just started feeling much better – you and me got into a really good place.
“I got really f*****g angry. And you know me, I’m a pacifist – I don’t really get angry – I’m like Tigger. I’m just always happy.
“I was like: ‘Are you f******g joking? What the f**k! Are you serious?”
“I was keeping it all in and Michael one day looked at me and he said: ‘Stop. I can see what you’re doing.
“‘You’re not going there. He said: ‘Let’s talk about it – I said: ‘I’m fine.
“He said: ‘You’re not fine’. I was like: ‘No, no, I’m fine. Honestly. ‘I’m not f*****g fine, that’s why I’m f*****g mad.
“He just sat and he came and watched me and I was f*****g stamping my feet. And it felt so good.”
In her Instagram post, Davina McCall thanked medical staff who treated her and urged women to get their breasts checked.
She said: “I just want to say a massive thank you to everybody at the Royal Marsden…
“… all the nurses, doctors who have helped me, thank you for your support.
“Thanks to my family, to my brilliant kids, and an extra special thanks to Michael. It’s been a lot.
“I was very angry when I found out, but I let go of that and I feel in a much more positive place now.
“I think my message is: get checked if you’re worried. Check yourself regularly. If you are due a mammogram, then get it done.
“I have dense breasts and I had a mammogram in August, and I was postponing the ultrasound; I just couldn’t find time to do it.
“Don’t do that. Get the ultrasound.”
Earlier this year, Davina said her operation to remove the benign brain tumour was “the best thing to ever happen to me”.
She admitted spiralling into denial after it was discovered by chance last year, but was spurred into action by surgeons.
Breaking down in tears at Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place Festival, Davina revealed doctors told her she would die if she didn’t act quickly.
Davina McCall said she feels blessed to still be presenting Long Lost FamilyCredit: ITV
Davina with her partner Michael DouglasCredit: Instagram
Davina said her operation to remove the benign brain tumour was ‘the best thing to ever happen to me’Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
She said: “I needed someone to tell me what to do, and my American doctor told me I should undergo surgery to have the tumour cut out.
“When I got the phone call, although it was a hard one to hear, I needed it.
“But after the operation, I was aware of a noise in my head, and they were thoughts. I realised I did not have that before.
“Now I wake up and wonder why the grass is green, and now I think of the most random things.
“I am not afraid of dying anymore. It was the biggest journey of my life. It was an amazing time.”
Davina has since started her Begin Again podcast in an attempt to help others on their deathbed.
Symptoms of breast cancer in women
Symptoms of breast cancer in women may include:
- a lump, or swelling in your breast, chest or armpit
- a change in the skin of your breast, such as dimpling (may look like orange peel) or redness (may be harder to see on black or brown skin)
- a change in size or shape of 1 or both breasts
- nipple discharge (if you are not pregnant or breastfeeding), which may have blood in it
- a change in the shape or look of your nipple, such as it turning inwards (inverted nipple) or a rash on it (may look like eczema)
- pain in your breast or armpit which does not go away – breast pain that comes and goes is usually not a symptom of breast cancer
It’s important to check your breasts regularly so you know what’s normal for you. This makes it easier to notice any changes in the size, look or feel of your breasts.
See a GP if:
- you have a lump or swelling in your breast, chest or armpit
- you have any changes in your breasts or nipples that are not normal for you
- you have pain in your breast or armpit that does not go away
The show is dedicated to empowering people to embrace midlife as their most transformative era yet.
The Long Lost Family host initially broke the news to her followers in a heartwrenching video on Instagram.
Davina had asked for prayers before having the operation to get the 14mm benign tumour – called a colloid cyst – removed.
She said: “A few months ago, I did a menopause talk for a company and they offered me a health scan in return, which I thought I was gonna ace.
“But it turned out I had a benign brain tumour called a colloid cyst which is very rare. Three in a million. So I slightly put my head in the sand.”
Davina explained she got a second opinion and saw “quite a few” neurosurgeons before getting the op.
She added: “I got lots of opinions and I realised that I have to get it taken out.
“It’s big for the space. It fills the space. It’s 14mm wide and it needs to come out, because if it grows, it would be bad.
“So I’m having it removed via a craniotomy. They go through the top of my head here and through the two halves of my brain to the middle…
“Get the cyst, take it out, empty it, take it out and Bob’s your uncle.”
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Davina’s partner, hairdresser Michael Douglas, appeared in the video alongside her.
He said he would update everyone on her progress while she took some time away from social media.
Davina said her fiance and hairdresser Michael Douglas, 52, encouraged her to open up about how she was feelingCredit: BBC
