This Morning's resident Agony Aunt Deidre Sanders has shared a health update. Joining Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley on Tuesday's show, the TV star confirmed that her breast cancer has returned after two years.
Explaining that the news has come as a "shock" to her, Deidre noted that her daughters – Elsie and Phoebe – have been a "great" source of support, and have been driving her to hospital appointments. She added that she felt "lucky" to have found the cancer at this stage.
"I feel lucky, it's been caught early, the treatment's happening very rapidly," she said. "I should have surgery on October 11th which is in no time and this was all on the NHS so I just think I am so lucky, it could be so much worse."
Revealing how the diagnosis came about, Deidre said: "I haven't had symptoms, I haven't felt run down I haven't felt tired 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."
Deidre, 78, was previously diagnosed with "high-grade" cancer in June 2022. After missing a mammogram appointment, a biopsy later revealed malignant cells in her right breast. At the time, the Agony Aunt revealed that she had been one of a cohort of several thousand women who hadn't been invited for a mammogram at age 70 'by error'.
After encouraging women to go for their mammograms, Deidre confirmed in October of that year that the cancer had been removed. As of 2024, however, she stated that cancerous cells had been found in her left breast. Deidre added that she will be undergoing a lumpectomy and radiotherapy as part of her treatment plan.
Deidre, who has been helping This Morning viewers since 2016, said that she felt compelled to share her cancer diagnosis. "It's my job in a way isn't it, that's what I do. I help people have difficult conversations and if I can't have my own it would be a poor show."
Commended by her co-stars, Ben Shephard told Deidre: We're here and we're with you every step of the way."
A mainstay on This Morning for eight years, Deidre is best known as being Dear Deidre, The Sun's agony aunt from 1980 to 2020. During her esteemed career, the 78-year-old has helped thousands of people with a variety of problems.
A proud mum-of-two, Deidre was married to her husband Rick for 55 years. He passed away in 2022.