Katie Price reveals she’s organising her terminally ill mum’s funeral after ‘accepting’ she’s dying
KATIE Price has revealed she’s organising her terminally ill mum’s funeral after ‘accepting’ she’s dying.
Katie's mother Amy was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2017.
The illness causes scarring to the lungs which reduces the sufferer's ability to breathe. There is currently no cure.
Now in Katie's new book, Harvey and Me, the former glamour girl has admitted she's come to terms with the diagnosis and is planning for her mother's funeral.
She wrote in the publication, out today: "I had all these thoughts running through my head and all these fears about the future, so I can't even imagine how my mum was feeling. She's an extremely strong woman.
"I know that she's accepted it, and even though I'm sure it's on her mind every day, she doesn't dwell on it.
"As I said, she's always been the opposite to me when it comes to things like that.
"Her attitude towards this illness has been the same as it was when we were told about Harvey's conditions.
Most read in Showbiz
"I suppose I'm a glass half empty kind of person and she's a glass half full."
Katie, who has a close relationship with her mother, continued: "But I've accepted it now because I have to. She has an incurable disease and that's just the reality of it.
"I know it sounds awful, but once we knew the prognosis, I even spoke to my mum about her funeral and what she wants for it.
"I think it's much easier to organise a funeral if you know what they want."
Just last month, Katie said she'd even offered her mum one of her lungs.
Speaking to Simon Thomas on his Life, Interrupted podcast, Katie revealed: "My mum, she's never smoked, [she's] always been healthy. She got told a couple years [ago], coming up to three years, that she would have three to five years left of her life. You know, it's gonna happen.
What is idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis?
IDIOPATHIC pulmonary fibrosis is a lung disease that around 6,000 are diagnosed with every year.
The condition is a build-up of scar tissue on the lungs that makes breathing increasingly difficult.
It typically affects those around the age of 70-75, and is rare for individuals under the age of 50.
Some people respond well to treatment, but others can find their condition gets rapidly worse, and other problems like chest infections or heart failure can occur.
Before the availability of treatments such as pirfenidone and nintedanib, around half of sufferers lived at least three years after their diagnosis.
Around one in five lived longer than five years, but it is hoped that new treatments will help to extend expectancy.
"She still does a spinning classes. She's got like 34 per cent left of her lung capacity, so she has started oxygen, which isn't nice to see because I, in my head, it's that once you start the oxygen and you need that, you know it's coming.
"So she's waiting to see if she can have a lung transplant. I even offered my lung to her."
However, Katie explained it wasn't as simple as giving her mother a lung, telling Simon: "But it's not that easy. You have to be ill enough to have it.
"Because if you're too well, they won't give it, but then you've still got to be well enough to be able to take it you know.
"Although my mother she could have it now, it doesn't mean to say that she'd still survive it because it can reject in three weeks and it only prolongs your life five years."
Chatting to Loose Women about her condition back in 2018, Amy said: "When you've got a lung condition like mine you've got to keep moving and keep strong.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"You've got to exercise your legs properly so you can get up off a chair and if you don't exercise your arms you won't be able to brush hair or teeth.
"You've got to look after yourself."
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The Sun Showbiz team?
Email [email protected] or call us direct on 02077824220 .
We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.