Gemma Collins heartbroken as she reveals her mum is in intensive care after breast cancer diagnosis
GEMMA Collins has revealed that her mum is in intensive care after her breast cancer diagnosis.
The reality star, 43, shared a health update on her mum Joan, 67, on Tuesday morning.
Joan, who found a cancerous lump between her breast and armpit last year, was rushed to hospital last week after she stopped breathing.
Gemma told fans on Instagram: “Good morning everyone, I just want to be real with you.
“I’ve just got out of bed, sun shining, I’ve got a busy day.
“My mum’s really ill at the minute, she’s in intensive care.
“It’s been a hell of a time, I’m really happy…well not that happy as my mum’s in intensive care but she’s on the mend, thank god.”
Gemma also shared a sweet throwback photo with her mum and wrote: “So last week I had the shock of my life when my mum stopped breaking and I called an ambulance and was told to prepare for the worst and would I like to resuscitate her.”
The Diva Forever star continued: “It’s been extremely tough but she is stable now and hopefully she will be much better soon.
“No day is promised for make everyday count.”
Last year Gemma revealed her mum had found a lump between her breast and her armpit.
Recalling the scary moment, Gemma told The Sun: She said: “It was over the phone. I was in the back of a taxi in London and I was like, ‘Are you all right, mum? Where are you?’ — as we say every day, ten times a day.
“She said, ‘Ah I didn’t want to tell you, but I’ve had a lump in my breast. I was like, ‘What?’, and she said, ‘But it’s fine I’ve got the all-clear’. I was like, ‘Oh, my God. Why didn’t you tell me?’”
Gemma continued: “It’s something that I’ve never spoken about. I was filming Diva Forever at the time so she never said a thing about the diagnosis, which must have been scary for her.
“She found the lump on the side of her right breast but she only told me when it was all over.
“Thank God she got it checked and thank God they caught it in the nick of time.
“She knew that I would have fallen apart in the worst-case scenario so she kept it to herself because she didn’t want to upset me — but she was very scared.”
Gemma, who also lost a female family member to the disease, said she has spoken to her doctor about a BRCA gene test — which screens DNA to assess the risk — in the hope of getting peace of mind.
Joan, who attends a screening every year, was diagnosed in 2016 with ductal carcinoma in situ, in which the cells in the lining of the breast tissue become cancerous.
However, the cancerous cells are contained inside the milk ducts and have not yet spread into the surrounding breast tissue.
The most common cause of hereditary breast cancer is an inherited mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. If a woman has inherited a mutated copy of either gene from a parent, they have a higher risk of breast cancer.
Gemma, who rose to fame on The Only Way is Essex, said: “I would love to go for the BRCA test — peace of mind is key.
“My mum is now a breast cancer survivor and let this be a message to everyone out there — no one is invincible from it.
“Your health is your wealth and with any lump you’re never going to be wasting the doctor’s time.
“These services are in place and we pay into these services — they are there to help us.”
