ACTRESS' AGONY
Dame Julie Walters reveals shock bowel cancer diagnosis – but now has all-clear
DAME Julie Walters has revealed her secret bowel cancer battle after she was diagnosed 18 months ago.
The 69-year-old actress said she has now been given the all-clear after two primary tumours were found in her large intestine.
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, the actress said she was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer.
She initially thought the doctor had made a mistake after first going in for an appointment after noticing heartburn and vomiting.
She said: "I was still thinking, 'That's ridiculous, he must have made a mistake'. I couldn't believe it."
She then broke the news to her husband Grant Roffey - saying: "I'll never forget his face. Tears came to his eyes."
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But the actress, known for her roles in hit movies including Mamma Mia and Billy Elliot, said she had always held out hope of a recovery.
Describing her own reaction, Julie added: "Shock, first of all shock. And then I thought 'Right' and then you hold onto the positive because he said, 'We can fix this'."
As part of her treatment, Dame Julie had about 30cm taken out of her colon and underwent chemo.
She has since said she had a scan and had been given the all-clear.
However, the diagnosis meant she had to be cut from certain scenes in her upcoming movie The Secret Garden.
Early diagnosis saves lives - the signs of bowel cancer you need to know
BOWEL cancer, also known as colon cancer or colorectal cancer, is the fourth most common form of the disease in the UK, after breast, prostate andlung cancers.
It's the UK's 2nd deadliest cancer - after lung - claiming 16,000 lives a year, but it CAN be cured - if it's caught early enough.
Catch it at stage 1 and a patient has a 97 per cent chance of living five years or more.
But catch it at stage 4 - when it's already spread - and that chance plummets to just seven per cent.
Bowel cancer screening is a vital part of that, and it's estimated to save 2,400 lives every year.
Currently the test is offered to everyone in England from the age of 60 - but across the border in Scotland screening starts at 50.
That's why The Sun launched the No Time 2 Lose campaign in April 2018, calling on the Government to lower the screening age in England - a move which could save around 4,500 lives a year.
In the summer of 2018, health secretary Matt Hancock announced they would lower the screening - marking a victory for The Sun and campaigners, including Lauran Backler who lost her mum Fiona to the disease at the age of 53.
But, to date, that pledge has not been acted on - in part due to delays rolling out a new and better screening test in England.
However, screening is just one aspect of catching the disease early.
Knowing the signs and symptoms - and understanding when to see your GP - can make a huge difference in helping diagnose bowel cancer in the earliest stages.
The five red-flag symptoms of bowel cancer include:
- bleeding from the back passage, or blood in your poo
- a change in your normal toilet habits - going more frequently for example
- pain or a lump in your tummy
- extreme tiredness
- losing weight
Tumours in the bowel typically bleed, which can cause a shortage of red blood cells, known as anaemia. It can cause tiredness and sometimes breathlessness.
In some cases bowel cancer can block the bowel, this is known as a bowel obstruction.
MORE ON BOWEL CANCER
She also missed the premiere of Mamma Mia 2 - instead telling people she had a ruptured hernia to keep her diagnosis out of the spotlight.
The beloved actress said she considered The Secret Garden to potentially be her last role.
She said: "I'm not saying I'll never act again.
"But I certainly don't think I can go back to [a film that requires working] six days a week, five in the morning till seven o'clock at night."
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Julie also reflected on her longtime friend Victoria Wood's own battle with cancer which she lost in 2016.
She said she had realised how "frightened" Victoria would have been with her own terminal diagnosis.
The actress said: "Because at least I could have an operation. She couldn't.
"But the other thing I thought was, 'God, the last time I saw her was in the hospital sitting by the bed... And I had [cancer] at the same time'."
The NHS have since thanked Julie for opening up about her bowel cancer diagnosis.
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer said: "I would like to thank Dame Julie for sharing her story because it’s so important for people to realise that if caught early enough bowel cancer can be cured, so going to your GP and getting checked as soon as you have symptoms is crucial."
Victoria Derbyshire's full interview with Dame Julie can be viewed on BBC Two, the BBC News Channel and online from 10:00 GMT, and afterwards on the BBC iPlayer.
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