The Heart Radio DJ, 54, received three operations after receiving a diagnosis for aggressive laryngeal cancer last year.
Jamie Theakston has opened up tearfully about his battle with laryngeal cancer in an emotional conversation with Davina McCall. The Heart Radio DJ, 54, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of the disease last September, after initially dismissing his symptoms as merely a sore throat.
Thankfully, Jamie is now cancer-free, having undergone multiple surgeries to remove a malignant lesion from his vocal cords. Yet, in a new episode of the Begin Again podcast, he emphasised just how shocking this ordeal was against the backdrop of exciting holiday plans with his family.
He said, looking for the right words: “So, when I got my cancer diagnosis, it came as such a huge shock to me because it was so surprising, like there was no… it just came as such a broadside because… so, I’d had this sore throat for a while, and we were about to go on holiday.
We’re departing from Japan, and we’re going there. My wife advised us to go see someone before we depart for Japan, just to get some antibiotics to clear up our throat, which is exactly what I believe we were supposed to do that day. “
Jamie immediately went to a doctor who, despite being “lovely,” had the worst bedside manner of any doctor he’d ever met. He immediately identified his throat as being “probably cancer” and performed a number of tests and scans on Jamie.
The radio DJ then planned a few hours of vacation while awaiting these exam results. He kept it a secret for two weeks, but he still felt he couldn’t tell his family what was actually happening.
He continued, “I didn’t tell anyone.” “… I pondered whether it might not be cancer at that time. There is no purpose to say that, in fact. “
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After receiving biopsy results, Jamie was informed that he did indeed have early-stage cancer. He left his wife Sophie Siegle’s expression of disbelief, who was also utterly devastated.
Jamie continued, “My mother had passed away from cancer about a year earlier,” with tears in his eyes. And so, when my youngest son, who had just learned my mother had passed away from cancer, was with me. And so I told him that everything would work out just fine and that there was nothing to worry about, which was the hardest part. “
At the Princess Grace Hospital in Central London, Jamie was diagnosed and given an operation. Initial evaluations indicated this was a successful procedure, but later confirmed that the cancer had not completely been removed.
The 54-year-old DJ had a second procedure, but his voice was hampered by scar tissue that had spread over his vocal cords. Jamie needed a third operation because of this, even though doctors claimed they were “dangerously close” to him never being able to speak again.
He stated, “We’re now dangerously close to you not being able to talk,” which is novel because it had now gone from being that I should be able to live with.
“I was like, wow, I hadn’t really factored that into the whole equation.” Fortunately, Jamie’s voice is still intact, and he made a triumphant return to Heart Radio Breakfast, which he hosts with Amanda Holden, in January.
He declared to the audience: “Today is the four-month anniversary of my cancer diagnosis. So it’s been four months, and I’ve had enough hospital stays and operations. It’s lovely to be back and I’ve got some news.
Source: Mirror
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