Celebrity Big Brother star James Whale reveals his wife Melinda only has months to live after terminal lung cancer diagnosis
The TALK radio host has spoken about his devastation over his wife's terminal diagnosis
CELEBRITY Big Brother star James Whale has revealed that his wife of nearly 50 years is dying of lung cancer.
The TALK radio host opened up about his heartache after discovering wife Melinda, 68, has only months to live.
James, 66, told the Daily Mail: “Melinda has stage four lung cancer, it is terminal. She is not expected to live very long, it may be weeks or months.
"She is having treatment, and I can't give up that last glimmer of hope.
"But the doctors say I have to face facts. She is dying. The thought of losing her is so painful, it is difficult to even contemplate."
Melinda doesn’t smoke and follows a vegetarian diet.
She originally went to the doctors in September after feeling generally unwell and suffering a cough.
"I thought it was just a virus but the doctor found an infection in my lower, left lung and ear. I was prescribed antibiotics and sent home," she said.
But after the antibiotics failed to work, she was sent for an X-ray and further tests revealed in December that she had stage four cancer.
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"It's in my bones, my spine and my lymph glands. It's gone ping, all over the place. It was such a huge shock. You're talking three months from perfect health to now, when I sleep almost 24 hours a day. It certainly crept up on me," she added.
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The couple - who are parents to James, 47, and Peter, 45 - now hope she makes it to their 48th wedding anniversary on March 10th.
Melinda - who is undergoing immunotherapy to boost her body's natural defences to fight the cancer - said: "At this point, there is no fighting it. The treatment they are giving me, at best, will delay my death by a year.
"If I don't have any treatment at all, I will be dead by March or April."
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