AGONY aunt Deidre Sanders has revealed her breast cancer has returned two years after she was first diagnosed.
The Sun’s retired agony aunt, whose iconic Dear Deidre column helped solve readers’ sex and relationship problems for more than 40 years, told of her “shock” diagnosis today
But said that she felt “lucky” that it had been found quickly and praised the treatment on the NHS.
She told This Morning hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard that she had no symptoms and malignant cells were detected through her scheduled mammogram followed by an ultrasound scan and a biopsy.
Deidre, 78, said: “No I haven’t had symptoms, I haven’t felt run down.
“I haven’t felt tired. I hadn’t had any discomfort. If I did a self check I couldn’t feel anything because it’s so tiny there is nothing to feel.
“It’s purely down to having the mammogram that showed it.
“And then you get referred back and I had a biopsy, and then it revealed it was cancer.”
The beloved agony aunt said she will have surgery in 10 days to remove the cancerous cells that were found in her other breast.
Breast cancer is the most common form of the disease in the UK with 56,000 cases per year and 12,000 deaths.
Deidre’s first diagnosis in 2022 came after an “error” saw her left off a list of women aged 70 who had not been invited to have their mammograms.
Speaking to The Sun at the time, she said she began “feeling achy” and realised she had a backache that “seemed to be spreading into my right breast”.
The NHS invites women to have their first screenings between the ages of 50 and 53.
They are then invited back every three years for a screening until they reach 70.
Deidre went on to explain that she is now invited back every year because of her previous cancer diagnosis.
She said: “So because I had breast cancer two years ago I now get an annual mammogram.
“It’s a different breast, it’s the left breast this time. There was a tiny, tiny, tiny, but malignant cancer in there so unfortunately I have got to have a lumpectomy followed by radiotherapy.
“But I am lucky, it has been caught early. The treatment is happening very rapidly. I should have surgery on October 11 which is in no time.
“This is all on the NHS. So I think I am so lucky. It could be a lot worse.”
Asked what went through her mind when she found out, she said: “To be honest, shock.
“Because I felt fine. I was just so taken aback I just wasn’t expecting it at all.”
Deidre urged viewers over 70 to request their mammograms because “time is of the essence”.
She added: “My big point about this, and why I really want to talk about it is, breast checks, mammograms stop when you are 70.
“The last one you get is when you are 70. I happened to be part of a cohort of women who didn’t get called.
“I hadn’t had one since I was 66, so for ten years. I hadn’t given it a thought.
“But what I now know is that if you are a woman over 70 you can request a mammogram.
“So please, request your mammogram. Because the reason why I’ve had quite an easy time is because it was caught so early.
“If it’s missed for years you are so much more likely to have to have a mastectomy.”
Deidre retired from The Sun in December 2020.
She has been an agony aunt on This Morning since 2016 and has also published several books.
CATCHING cancer early gives you the best chance of survival, and a huge part of that is attending regular screenings.
NHS programmes can help diagnose the disease, or risk of it, and improve the likelihood of successful treatment.
There are three national screening programmes in England: cervical screening, breast screening and bowel screening.
“If you are eligible, please make every effort to have your screening test as they can detect a problem early, before you have any symptoms. ,” the NHS says.
“Finding out about a problem early can mean that treatment is more effective.”
Cervical screening
This is offered in England to people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 and is routinely carried out every three years up to the age of 49, and every five from 50 to 64.
Depending on the result, people may be recalled earlier.
During a cervical screening, samples are tested for high risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which causes nearly all cervical cancers.
Those that test positive are then analysed further.
Breast screening
Breast screenings, which involve an X-ray test called a mammogram that can spot cancers when they are too small to see or feel, are usually offered to women aged 50 to 71 in England.
But the NHS is trialling them for women under 50 if they have a high risk of developing breast cancer.
Bowel screening
This test detects whether patients are showing any early signs of cancer.
It is available to everyone aged 54 to 74, with the programme gradually expanding to those 50-plus after The Sun’s No Time 2 Lose campaign.
Currently, those aged 54 to 74 are automatically sent an at-home test kit every two years, so make sure your GP has your correct address.
The at-home test involves providing a small poo sample to be checked for tiny amounts of blood, which could be caused by cancer.
If you’re 75 or over, you can ask for a kit every two years by phoning the free bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60.
Source: NHS
