Were it not for Lorraine Kelly and some well-located posters in the ITV studios, Davina McCall may never have checked the lump in her breast.
On Saturday morning McCall, 58, revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had a successful operation three weeks ago, having caught the disease “very, very early”.
She said it was only after seeing posters in the lavatories urging women to “check your breasts”, while filming The Masked Singer at ITV, that she saw a doctor having realised that a previous lump that “came and went” had returned — and was not going away.
Lorraine Kelly
KEN MCKAY/ITV/SHUTTERSTOCK
McCall praised Kelly and her ITV daytime show after seeing posters for their annual breast cancer awareness campaign, Change+Check. “Lorraine, the TV show, Lorraine Kelly, had put signs on the back of all the doors saying, ‘check your breasts’,” she explained in a video posted on Instagram. “And every time I went for a wee I did that, and it was still there. And then one morning, I saw it in the mirror, and I thought, I’m going to get that looked at.
“So I had a biopsy. I found out it was indeed breast cancer, and I had it taken out in a lumpectomy nearly three weeks ago, and the margins, they take out a little bit extra and they check the margins, and the margins are clear.”
McCall, who was treated for a rare brain tumour in November last year, said the cancer had not spread before the lump was removed and that she would undergo five days of radiotherapy in January as an “insurance policy”.
“It was very, very small, so I got it very, very early, which is incredibly lucky, but I am so relieved to have had it removed, and to know that it hasn’t spread.
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“My lymph nodes were clear. I didn’t have any removed, and all I’m going to do now is have five days of radiotherapy in January as kind of an insurance policy, and then I am on my journey to … stop it ever coming back.”
McCall shared the news with her followers on Instagram
McCall’s post, in which she urged other women to check their breasts, received thousands of comments from friends and fans praising her for raising awareness. The comedian Dawn French called her a “phenomenal woman” and said: “Blimey, Davina! What a warrior you are. Must’ve been stressful.”
The actress Anna Friel wrote: “I am so sorry you are going through so much. You are shining and still smiling in the face of adversity. It’s a lesson to us all.”
The charity Breast Cancer Now commented on McCall’s post, offering support to the broadcaster and adding: “Thanks so much for sharing and being so open to help raise awareness for others.”
Kelly said: “I’m so glad Davina saw our Change+Check sticker and the cancer was caught early. That’s the whole point of the campaign to raise awareness and save lives. I’m sending Davina all my love. She’s been through such a lot and she’s such a terrific woman.”
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer for women in Britain. It kills about 11,500 women every year, although about 76 per cent of patients survive breast cancer for ten years or more, according to Cancer Research UK. There is an elevated risk of developing the disease among over-50s and those with dense breast tissue and a family history of breast or ovarian cancer.
A year ago McCall had brain surgery to remove a benign tumour called a colloid cyst. Although such tumours are not cancerous, they tend to grow slowly over time, according to the Brainstrust charity.
In March McCall said the surgery, which involved removing a portion of her skull to extract the tumour, was “the hardest thing” she had endured.
McCall after brain surgery
She said she had initially been “very angry” to be confronted with another major health scare. “But I let go of that and I feel in a much more positive place now,” she said.
The former Big Brother presenter thanked staff at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, along with her family, and sent an “extra special thanks” to her partner, the hairdresser Michael Douglas.
With her partner, Michael Douglas
MIKE MARSLAND/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES
“I think my message is, get checked if you’re worried, check yourself regularly. If you are due a mammogram, then get it done. And 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, and thanks for watching. And I’m sending you all a massive hug.”