Former Dancing With the Stars Australia co-host Edwina Bartholomew is battling cancer . Fighting back tears on the Friday, Sept. 6 broadcast of Sunrise , the Australian breakfast program she presents, Bartholomew announced live on-air that she was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in July.
"I have personal news this morning. It's not great news. I have been diagnosed with cancer," the host told viewers before sharing that she is battling chronic myeloid leukemia. CML is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood that causes an increased number of white blood cells in the blood, according to Mayo Clinic .
Bartholomew admitted that sharing her diagnosis was "a shock to say and hard to say," but assured viewers in a written essay that her cancer is "a good kind - if there is such a thing." She explained that it can be treated "with a daily tablet and if I take care of myself, I will be completely fine. It's the luckiest unlucky thing to ever happen to me."
The presenter said she only discovered her cancer after deciding to be "proactive" about her health after she hadn't been "to see a GP for myself since I was pregnant with my son - more than two years ago." She said she was inspired to get checked after her co-star Natalie Barr, who in June revealed that she was being treated for skin cancer after a routine skin check. Bartholomew said that in July, she visited her own doctor and underwent a mammogram, blood tests, and a skin check.
"I soon found myself in a hospital room, waiting for a mammogram. You can imagine all the horrific scenarios that went through my head as I cursed myself for forgetting appointments and neglecting my health. In the end, the mammogram was clear but the routine blood tests my doctor sent me to do at the same time were not," she wrote.
Bartholomew said that "one was abnormal, some levels out of whack," and so her doctor sent her back to do it again. She had the blood tests redone on July 29, and later the following morning, her doctor "called to say I should bring someone with me to the appointment. Not a good sign." Two days later, I was having a bone marrow biopsy and by Saturday, I had started treatment. It has been an absolute whirlwind."
"It was important to me to tell you my story because I suspect there are quite a few people out there suffering from a not-so-healthy dose of benign neglect, particularly mums like me. We often take care of everyone else in our family and forget to put on our own oxygen mask first," she added, "If this sounds familiar to you, maybe it's time to check in on your health as well."
Bartholomew went on to share that "what is clear from the past few months is that I need to dramatically change things" before announcing that she will "take a break for a few weeks and then come back to the studio just a few days a week." She said she is going to spend some time with my husband and wonderful little kids, Molly and Tom, genuinely going for bike rides, putting my phone away and taking some 'me' time instead of just pretending."
Local News
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