Christine McGuinness has spoken candidly about her mother Joanne’s struggle with breast cancer during a heartfelt chat on ITV’s Lorraine. The popular television personality joined the show on Wednesday (22 January) to discuss her experience in Celebrity Hunted for Stand Up to Cancer alongside Blue’s Duncan James.
The 36-year-old opened up to Lorraine Kelly regarding her mum’s condition following a HER2-positive aggressive breast cancer diagnosis, which Joanne discovered after finding a lump during the lockdown.
Responding to Lorraine’s inquiry about her mum’s current health, Christine shared: “She’s doing OK. She’s still having treatment, and she still has all of her check-ups.”
Mother-of-three Christine, who co-parents three children with her former spouse, Paddy McGuinness, has previously been vocal about her family’s cancer experiences.
Following the discovery of a lump, Christine’s mum had surgery to remove it, then faced six months of chemotherapy and 10 days of radiotherapy. In 2021, Christine declared that her mum was officially in remission, reports the Liverpool Echo.
The daunting diagnosis led Christine to undergo genetic testing to determine if she was a carrier of the BRCA gene, particularly because cancer runs in her family, with four aunts also diagnosed. Thankfully, as Christine told OK! magazine in 2021, her results were negative.
“I’m just really relieved. Thank God it came back negative,” she remarked. “It doesn’t mean I can’t get cancer, but it means my chances are the same as anybody else’s.”
Despite the relief that came with her test outcome, Christine confessed that the possibility of her children inheriting the gene still weighs on her mind.
“As a mum, I worry about my children anyway. But when there’s a condition like this in your family, I do worry. I feel better knowing I don’t carry the gene and I’m hoping they won’t either. But the reality is, unfortunately, it’s something that can happen,” she said.
Lorraine airs from 9am on ITV1 on weekdays