Sarah Harding’s Cancer Battle Recalls Daughter Caron Keating’s ‘Stunned’ Gloria Hunniford

Hearing that Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding had been diagnosed with breast cancer was a shock.

At 38, she seemed too young, too vibrant, too full of life to face such a terrible disease.

But for 80-year-old television host Gloria Hunniford, it was all too familiar and the news led her straight back to 1997, when her daughter Caron Keating was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I was dumbfounded,” says Gloria. “Caron was 34 years old. And like Sarah, he was young, fit, and picky about his diet.

“At that time, I didn’t know any other young woman with breast cancer. I was devastated when my beautiful mother had to undergo a mastectomy in her 70s, but you almost expect health problems in your parents. Not on your little daughter. “

Only 4% of the 55,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK each year are under the age of 40.

Advances

In a heartwarming Twitter post, Sarah told her fans that she had weekly chemotherapy sessions.

He also vowed to fight the disease with every fiber of his being, saying, “I’m doing everything I can to stay positive. I’m fighting as hard as I can. “

And Gloria believes that same unfailingly optimistic attitude helped Caron and her family cope with her diagnosis.

She says: “Caron never talked about losing his battle, he only talked about life. Her whole attitude towards cancer was positive. We all tapped on that and she became the teacher.

“Throughout his treatment, there were times when we felt there was nothing wrong at all because there was always something fun: music nights, people coming to sing …”

Caron lost her battle with cancer in 2004, but since then, there have been many advances in treatment, and more research is being done all the time to bring hope to those facing the disease now, like Sarah.

Through her work with the Caron Keating Foundation, Gloria knows that women now have more treatment options than are available to her daughter.

She says: “Treatments are getting better all the time, along with cutting edge technology. I remember going to a dinner hosted by Cancer Research UK.

“The main physician was the keynote speaker and had just returned from Florida with exciting and encouraging information about the drug herceptin, which has subsequently helped so many women coping with breast cancer.

“Afterward, he said, ‘While giving the speech, I thought the drug had come four years too late for Caron.’ Since that event, herceptin has saved many lives and research continues to investigate targeted drug therapies and antibody immunotherapy.

Whichever treatment you choose, Sarah, who told her Twitter followers that the cancer had spread to other parts of her body, likely has a long way to go.

And his family will be paramount, as he acknowledged when thanking his mother in his online announcement. Gloria says her exceptionally close bond with Caron was a comfort to both of them, and shared how she identifies with Sarah’s mother Marie, 80.

She says: “I was happy to hear that Sarah’s mom is helping her through this difficult time. It is very difficult for close family to know the best way to provide support and what to say.

“I celebrated the end of Caron’s chemotherapy by organizing a surprise trip to Paris. I showed up at his house at 6.30am with a car waiting outside to take us to the Eurostar.

“We had the happiest day. We buy and talk like we always do ”.

After her diagnosis, TV host Caron moved to Australia with her husband Russ and their sons Charlie and Gabriel, as she was drawn to the sun and the complementary therapies offered there.

Gloria traveled Down Under nine times during the two and a half years that Caron lived there and there were precious, thoughtful moments when the couple relived happy memories. She recalls: “One of Caron’s favorite memories was when we lived in County Down. When her dad was playing golf, we’d buy a big roll of chocolate and sit by the fire to watch black and white movies.

“When your life goes through the microscope, the things you remember are interesting: comforting little things, always about family and home.

“As Caron wrote in his notebook, when you are battling cancer, you realize that family and close friends are everything. So Sarah, we are all with you and we wish you strength.
and positivity. ”

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