Jamie Theakston 'so pleased' cancer diagnosis came after his mum died
Jamie Theakston was "pleased" that his mother had passed away before he was diagnosed with stage one laryngeal cancer last year as she had suffered with the disease herself before she died in 2022.
Jamie Theakston was "so pleased" his mum had died before he got cancer.
The 54-year-old co-presenter of the Heart Radio breakfast show was diagnosed with stage one laryngeal cancer - which affects the larynx (voice box) that helps people to breathe and speak - in September 2024, and Jamie announced in January that he is "cancer-free" before he headed back to join his co-host Amanda Holden, 54, on the airwaves.
Jamie's mum passed away on Christmas Eve in 2022 after she "wasn't strong enough" to deal with the "several different forms of cancer" she was suffering from and he is relieved that he didn't have to tell her of his own battle with the disease.
He told television presenter Davina McCall, 57, on the 'Begin Again' podcast: "When I got told I had cancer, all I could think about was my mum.
"And, I was so pleased that she had died before I got cancer because I would hate for her to have learned that I had cancer.
"Because I'm not sure what that would have done to her, because she was a survivor, she'd lived with cancer for years, had got the all-clear, came back.
"She had several different forms of cancer in the end, just she couldn't, wasn't strong enough to deal with [it].
"And I can't, I don't know, I'm not even sure I could have ever have told her, because I don't know what that would have done to her."
Jamie's dad has Alzheimer's disease - a cognitive condition that affects memory, thinking and other brain functioning abilities - and he said telling him about his cancer diagnosis was "easy" because he wasn't sure if his dad processed the revelation.
Admitting to Davina - who underwent surgery last November to remove a benign colloid cyst brain tumour - Jamie said: "It was easy with my dad, in a way, because my dad's been left behind.
"He struggles a bit with his memory, and he doesn't have that much clarity in the way that my mum did.
"And so, in a way, I could just tell him I was unwell.
"And I'm not sure how much he knew or does know now about how unwell I was. But I feel I don't mind that because I don't want to burden him with it.
"I often think that Alzheimer's, in many ways, is a very cruel disease. But, in many ways, it means they don't have to really be fully aware of some of the difficult things that they might have to face at that age."
And looking ahead to the future now that his cancer ordeal is behind him, Jamie hopes he will be a "better person".
Asked by Davina what he is "looking forward to", Jamie - who has sons Sidney, 17, and Kit, 16, with his wife Sophie Siegle - candidly admitted: "Just the rest of my life ...
"I hope it will make me be a better parent, a better broadcaster. It certainly feels like it makes me a better person."
