Trisha Goddard, who is living with incurable cancer, is back on our TV screens tonight as she joins the contestants entering the Celebrity Big Brother house.
Her stint in the country’s most famous house comes after we welcomed her back into our homes in 2024. Former queen of daytime TV, Trisha made her return to ITV a guest presenter on Good Morning Britain, following a hiatus from the world of television while she battled ill health.
Here’s a rundown of what the brave star has said about living with incurable cancer…
Trisha Goddard was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008
In 2008, Trisha received an initial diagnosis for breast cancer after going to the hospital with a running injury. She told Piers Morgan in 2021 that she laughed and cried at the same time, upon hearing the news.
After receiving her diagnosis, Trisha underwent months of chemotherapy. Unfortunately, this led to more complications.
She already had early onset glaucoma before the chemotherapy began. The treatment threw a spanner in the works, and precipitated an eye infection that damaged her eyes severely.
Fortunately, she recovered. However, the cancer returned with a vengeance a decade or so later. In July 2022, it metastasised, and doctors found cancerous cells in her right hip.
“That was the first I heard that the cancer had come back,” she told Hello magazine. “And the first thing I asked was: ‘Am I going to die?'”
‘It’s not going to go away’
Eventually, the dust settled, and she learned to live with the knowledge that she has a terminal illness.
“It’s not going to go away. And with that knowledge comes grief, and fear. But I must keep enjoying what I have always enjoyed,” she said.
Speaking about her decision to go public with her diagnosis, after a nosebleed at work, Trisha added: “I can’t lie and I can’t keep making up stories. It gets to a stage, after a year and a half, when keeping a secret becomes more of a burden than anything else.”
She also shared that she kept her illness private for so long because she didn’t want to be a “poster girl for cancer”.
Trisha explains juggling cancer medications with GMB hosting duties
In order to be able to co-host Good Morning Britain with Richard Madeley in August last year, Trisha Goddard had to juggle her medical requirements with hosting commitments.
After her return to the small screen, she explained the situation to her Instagram followers.
“Not gonna lie,” she wrote in a post dated August 13. “Started off a little bit nervous, but Richard Madeley and the GMB team are just so sweet and supportive, so managed to get into my stride.
“Thanks also to Joleigh, my hospital nurse-practitioner back in Connecticut for helping me work out how to juggle my meds to minimise side effects so I didn’t get too whacked out or floored on air!”
Trisha moved to the States in 2010.
“Shout out to all those living with serious chronic illnesses who have to learn the best ways to maximise those good energy times and plan their medications on work days through trial and error,” she added.
“Plus all those teams, GPs and services and loved ones who help us keep working – because a sense of purpose and accomplishment is so vital to good mental health.”
‘I’ll take every drug they give me’
Trisha was prescribed the “full strength” chemotherapy which she’s described as a “bitch”.
However, far from complaining, she’s vowed to do whatever she can to stick around for as long as she possibly can. Trisha added on Virgin Radio last summer: “I’ll take every drug that they give me. I’m very fortunate. I grew up in East Africa – people die of a flipping common cold there you know!”
She also joked about weight loss being a side effect of her gruelling cancer treatment, saying: “I got very skinny very quickly, but I don’t recommend it – go for weight-loss jabs if you can.”
She continued: “Once upon a time I thought I’d never make it up this hill, so what I’m saying is treat every bit of every hill as a bit of training for the next hill.”
Indeed, on her Instagram, Trisha calls herself a “breast cancer thriver” and, in one post, she declared: “Cancer might be what I’ve got, but it sure as hell ain’t who I am.”
And it’s highly likely that she’ll prove just that during her stint in the Celebrity Big Brother house.
It starts on ITV1 tonight (April 7) at 9pm.
Read more: Piers Morgan Uncensored: Piers and Trisha Goddard clash in furious Harry and Meghan racism debate
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