Paddy McGuinness once encouraged his “terrified” then-wife Christine McGuinness, to get an important test after her family faced a health crisis.
Paddy has just finished his impressive 300-mile endurance ride on a classic chopper, cycling from Wales to Scotland raising money for Children in Need.
Two years after his split with model Christine, she shared in her 2021 autobiography, A Beautiful Nightmare, a terrifying health scare she experienced, which Paddy helped her through.
She opened up about her mum’s fight with breast cancer, meaning there was a “strong risk” she could develop the disease as well. Although the thought of taking a test to check the risk “terrified” her, reports the Echo.
Christine wrote: “I need to be around for my children for as long as possible and if that meant I was required to have a double mastectomy to reduce my chances of developing cancer, I was fully prepared to do it. Actually doing the test was another story. I put off having it for so long because I was terrified what the results might be.
But it was something my husband encouraged me to do, too. He has a history of heart problems in his family and goes for regular check-ups himself. So, reluctantly, I went and got tested.
“It was all very easy, a simple swab test, and the results were sent to my GP. I didn’t tell my mum about it until after I got the results, as I didn’t want to put that extra worry on her. Many weeks of anguish and worry later, I got the results. It was negative. I felt so relieved.”
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The NHS states that breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the UK, and anyone can develop it.
Symptoms can include a lump or swelling in the breast, chest or armpit.This may include changes in the skin, breast size or shape, nipple discharge, alterations in nipple appearance, or pain in the breast or armpit.
The health service emphasised the importance of regularly checking your breasts to understand what is normal for you. This helps in spotting any changes more easily. If you have any concerns, consult your GP.
You can learn more about breast cancer on the NHS website here.
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