Good Morning Britain presenter Richard Madeley previously recalled the moment his late mother Mary discovered she had both cancer and Alzheimer's disease, and in honour of Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month in November, we're shining a light on the star's experience.
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In an interview with the Express in May, Richard said: "My mother, about 12 years ago now, she was in her early eighties then, but she began to get some strange symptoms. And she was diagnosed on the same day as having both lung cancer, and Alzheimer’s, which came as a complete shock to everybody, but she was terribly laid back about it.
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"I remember her calling me up the day that she got the diagnosis. From the outset, I remember her saying two things.
"She said that she felt she had a good life, which was longer than she expected, and she specifically said that she hoped that it was the big C that would take her, and not the Alzheimer’s. And that's interesting, that reflects a survey that was done not that long ago."
The presenter, who is believed to be part of the I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! 2021 line-up added: "Until fairly recently, when people in their sixties were asked what was the big health issue as they move into the beginnings of old age, by a clear majority for decades they would say cancer, but that's changed now.
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© Photo: RexRichard, wife Judy and children Chloe and Jack when Richard received an honorary degree in 2011
"People now put, first and foremost, they put dementia as the thing that they're most concerned about getting, because it doesn't just take your life and make you ill ahead of your time, it takes your personality, it takes you.
"Anyway, mum did succumb to the cancer first, although the dementia, I wouldn’t say it was advanced, but it was very apparent that it was beginning to get a grip on her. Her memory was going, her focus was going."
Richard's mother tragically died in March 2014, aged 82, after a three year battle with lung cancer, as well as Alzheimer's disease.
Richard is married to wife Judy Finnigan, and they have two children together, Chloe, 34, and Jack, 35.
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