Edwina Bartholomew has shared the reason she has kept her cancer diagnosis a secret from her children.
The Sunrise star revealed that she had been diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) – a type of blood and bone marrow cancer – live on air in September.
The 41-year-old told Stellar Magazine this weekend that she feels her kids Molly, four, and Tom, two, who she shares with husband Neil Varcoe, are simply too young to understand.
‘My kids are two and four, I never had to have the conversation with them, which is such a huge relief. For them, there’s no physical difference’ she says.
Edwina broke the news to her parents earlier this year, and says her father’s emotional response broke her heart.
‘Watching Dad find out was probably harder than watching Mum, because I think dads are often quite stoic, aren’t they? It was really emotional’ she said.
Edwina Bartholomew has shared the reason she has kept her cancer diagnosis a secret from her children. Pictured in this week’s issue of Stellar Magazine
‘I was able to explain to Mum and Dad straight up the nuts and bolts and the practicalities of it, what would happen and the treatment – and that I had to have a biopsy to confirm it.’
She continued: ‘And they’re fairly pragmatic people. It was a really emotional discussion but also they could see that it wasn’t the end of the world and I was going to be okay’.
Edwina was first diagnosed in July and has since cut down on her work with the popular Channel Seven breakfast program to focus on her health.
She has mostly remained out of the spotlight in recent months, but has now given an update on her health and revealed whether she will be returning to her fulltime TV work.
Speaking to Stellar‘s Something To Talk About podcast, Edwina said she still finds it a ‘shock’ to say she has leukaemia after months of processing the difficult diagnosis.
She said she feels extremely lucky because they caught the cancer early as she reassured her fans that she is doing ‘really well’ and has had ‘fantastic’ test results so far.
Edwina said the diagnosis prompted her to start taking care of her health and she has now cut out gluten, coffee, alcohol and sugar from her diet and has taken up more exercise.
She admitted her diagnosis has made her rethink her mindset on life and realise that she cannot continue waking up at 3am for her early morning gig hosting on Sunrise.
The 41-year-old told Stellar Magazine this weekend that she feels her kids Molly, four, and Tom, two, who she shares with husband Neil Varcoe, are simply too young to understand. All pictured
‘The 24/7 go, go, go approach I had to life for the past 40 years had to shift. This has definitely been a huge takeaway for me that life can’t continue like that,’ she went on.
‘I’ve had to say to work, ”I can’t now go back to work five days a week at 3am in the morning, it’s not something that I can do” – to their credit, Channel Seven has been phenomenal about that.’
Edwina’s remarks about cutting down on her TV work come after it was rumoured that she is shifting from her long-held role at the Seven breakfast show.
She is said to be planning to move to the network’s Sydney newsroom when veteran newsreader Ann Sanders, 64, announces her retirement, according to news.com.au.
The proposed move is said to make things easier for Edwina, who would no longer have to wake up at 3am to get ready for work amid her health struggles.
In September, Edwina revealed live on-air that she had been diagnosed with cancer in a tearful admission.
‘I have been diagnosed with cancer. That’s a shock and hard to say,’ she sadly told viewers.
‘It is a really good kind. It is called chronic myeloid leukaemia. It can be treated with a daily tablet. If I can take care of myself, I will be completely fine.’
The Sunrise star, 41, revealed that she had been diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) – a type of blood and bone marrow cancer – live on air in September
The veteran TV star then began to break down in tears before telling the audience: ‘I thought I could keep it together.’
Edwina went on to reveal her co-star Natalie Barr was to thank for her getting diagnosed as quickly as she had been.
Nat had her own cancer scare in June, after a routine skin check uncovered skin cancer on her nose, which persuaded Edwina to undergo a full health check at her own doctors.
‘I had a mammogram after I had a few lumps. That came back all clear. I even had an eye check,’ she explained.
‘That’s fine. But my doctor sent me to get routine blood tests at the same time, one of those tests came back with levels out of whack.
‘I feel lucky and I wanted to share this with you for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because everyone at home and here has been here for all the wonderful times, for the engagements, the weddings and the babies, for all of us.’
‘Many of you have been in similar situations or worse and come out the other side stronger… and more resilient. That’s exactly what I plan to do,’ she added.
Edwina said the other reason she wished to share her news was to encourage others to prioritise their health as well.
‘Please, particularly for mums who always take care of everyone else, please take care of yourself. And just check in with your doctor,’ she said.
The Seven star found out about her shock diagnosis in July and kept it secret from the public, telling only a few friends at work.
According to Mayo Clinic, CML is an uncommon type of cancer in the bone marrow and is very slow to progress.
Advances in treatment have improved the prognosis of people with CML and most people diagnosed with it can achieve remission and live for many years.
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