Julia Bradbury to undergo mastectomy after breast cancer diagnosis

Sep 19, 2021

TV presenter Julia Bradbury has revealed she has breast cancer and will undergo a mastectomy.

The 52-year-old broadcaster, best known for presenting BBC One programme Countryfile, said she would have her left breast removed in order to remove a six-centimetre tumour.

In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, she said surgeons will also take tissue from her lymph nodes to establish whether the disease has spread to other parts of her body.

I’m sad to say that I’ve just been diagnosed with breast cancer & need urgent surgery. Please self-check regularly & if you have any unexplained pain, tenderness or lumps, please ask for checks & follow ups. And ask for a 2nd opinion if you’re not happy. https://t.co/NNeCYyQRTG

Bradbury said she found a lump last year which turned out to be a cluster of benign micro-cysts.

But her cancer diagnosis came after she booked in for a mammogram in July on an annual recall.

Doctors believe the cancer cells have not yet spread to the breast tissue, despite describing the tumour as “sizeable”, which means she may not need chemotherapy.

Bradbury tweeted to say she was “sad” to announce her diagnosis.

She added: “Please self-check regularly & if you have any unexplained pain, tenderness or lumps, please ask for checks & follow ups. And ask for a 2nd opinion if you’re not happy.”

Bradbury told the publication she was looking at the positives.

“It is quite good on the scale on cancers. But as with all tumours, until you are in there you never know,” she said.

“As it is I am going to lose my breast. I trust that one day I will look down on it and think that was the fight of my life and I have the ultimate battle scar to prove it.”

Bradbury, who presented Countryfile alongside Matt Baker from 2004 until 2014, has urged other women to regularly check themselves for breast cancer and not to be afraid to seek help.

“We must, must, must check ourselves and seek help,” she said.

“Being scared of a diagnosis could be the thing which kills you. So learn what to look for and check, check, check.

“Doctors are experts but only you can press a lump, know how it feels and think you should do something about it.”

Bradbury also specialises in documentaries and consumer affairs and is employed by the BBC and ITV.

She is also known for presenting Watchdog from 2005 until 2009 and Planet Earth Live in 2012 for the BBC among other programmes.

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