Esther Rantzen's daughter provides health update on TV icon ahead of 86 birthday
Dame Esther Rantzen's daughter Rebecca Wilcox says her mother is "as astonished as anybody that she’s still here", just days before her 86th birthday on June 22nd.
Dame Esther Rantzen is "as astonished as anybody that she’s still here", according to her daughter.
Rebecca Wilcox, 46, has told how her 85-year-old mother, who has terminal stage four lung and breast cancer, is to turn 86 on June 22nd, and Esther is treating "every day as a wonderful miracle".
Speaking on Vanessa, she said: "It’s her birthday coming up. She’s going to be 86, which is brilliant.
"She’s as astonished as anybody that she’s still here.
"We are so grateful. She was diagnosed three years ago with terminal stage four lung and breast cancer, so every day is a wonderful miracle and we really are cherishing it.
"We are just so grateful to have her here."
Rebecca also told how Esther still has a passion for gardening.
She explained: "Her garden is her passion. It is gorgeous.
"She’s an early adopter of rewilding. Monty Don has nothing on her. They built this garden from nothing.
"It was a dilapidated farm. I got married there."
Esther previously revealed she hopes to be reunited with her late husband Desmond Wilcox after her death.
She told The Times newspaper: "If there is a heaven, it would be a very happy place.
"It's a lovely idea to meet Desmond again and all those I have loved and lost - my parents and grandparents, my close friends and family."
Esther was married to Desmond - the father of her three children - for more than 20 years, but lost him in 2000 when he died aged 69 after suffering a heart attack.
The TV star previously admitted she longed to see her husband again.
During an appearance on Piers Morgan's Life Stories, Esther told the host: "Desmond’s last words to me were: 'I adore you'. I was sitting on his deathbed.
"I will take those words with me to the grave. I said to my son last night, 'If God gave me the choice between 10 more years of life and 10 more minutes with Desi, I would pick those 10 minutes.' "
