The Countryfile presenter, 51, was diagnosed with a tumour in her breast last year and underwent a mastectomy in October 2021. Before the surgery took place, she was marked with a black felt tip to indicate where cuts would be made. She said she “felt like a piece of meat on a block”.
“They were like something you see in the butchers,” she told You Magazine.
After the surgery, she continued to remain unsettled. She revealed how it was almost two months before she could look down at the site of her mastectomy.
“At that point [after the mastectomy] – and I think this is a moment that every woman who has had a mastectomy will share – I had never felt so lost, so out of control and so deeply sad.
“The shape of me, as I knew it when I looked in the mirror, was never going to be the same again.”
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There are several factors that increase the risk of recurrent cancer for breast cancer survivors. These include having inflammatory breast cancer, and cancer that was large in size, according to Mayo Clinic.
As part of the surgery, the surgeon removes some healthy tissue surrounding the tumour. This tissue is looked at for cancer cells.
If part of the border has cancer cells, the risk of breast cancer recurrence is higher.
Moreover, younger people, especially those under the age of 35 are likely to have a higher risk.
Days before her interview with You Magazine, Bradbury revealed an emotional video talking about when she was told she needed a mastectomy.
She wrote: “This is the moment I found out I had to have a mastectomy. Utter shock, sadness & fear.
“I’ve made a documentary for @itv about my #breastcancer experience to spread awareness, not just about cancer, but the impact a diagnosis has on a person & their family & friends.”
Her ITV programme airs on April the 28th.
