Countryfile veteran Julia Bradbury broke down in tears when recounting her gruelling cancer journey.
The cherished BBC presenter has been vocal about her fight with breast cancer, aiming to raise awareness so others may spot early warning signs that are often overlooked. Despite having shared her story before, it occasionally overwhelms her.
During an appearance on Davina McCall’s Begin Again podcast, the much-loved Countryfile star conveyed how she felt when her doctor confirmed what they feared: a cancer diagnosis. Visibly shaken, Bradbury said: “And I’ve never cried at this bit of the story before, but it’s the moment you feel most vulnerable, and it’s also the moment that you do nothing.”
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Previously accustomed to an active lifestyle presenting travel documentaries in locations such as Iceland, Germany, and South Africa, Julia found her life abruptly paused by her illness, , reports Gloucestershire Live. Reflecting on the moments after her diagnosis, she remembers making a poignant call to her partner Gerald: “I told him, and we cried.
“And I said, I’ll do whatever I have to do to get through this. I will do whatever it is.” Determined, Julia expressed a readiness to face all necessary treatments: “If I have to lose a breast, I’ll have to lose my hair.
“If I have to go, whatever it is I need to do. I’m going to do what I need to do to get through this.”
Julia Bradbury was moved to tears when talking about her cancer battle
(Image: Youtube/Begin Again with Davina McCall)
She underscores the individual nature of cancer treatment, noting: “Every type of cancer is different. Every type of breast cancer is different.” You’ll have a friend who’s gone through breast cancer, and she and I will sit down and have a story, and we’ll have had a different tumour in a different place, and it will behave differently.
“It’s very complicated. And that’s the reason why the war on cancer hasn’t been won yet.”
However, she believes there are certain fundamental rules everyone can adhere to in order to maximise their chances of avoiding cancer: “I don’t believe there is one thing that will cure anybody’s cancer.
Julia Bradbury after treatment for her breast cancer
(Image: David Venni/Twofour/ITV)
“I don’t think it’s one drug. I don’t think it’s one treatment. I don’t think it’s just one approach.
“I believe the cancer has to be treated holistically, that it it is to do with so many factors and if you’re not metabolically healthy, if you’re not a healthy person, if you’re not feeding yourself the right foods, if you’re drinking lots of alcohol and you’re eating lots of sugar, that’s not the best environment to fight cancer, because it’s a metabolic disease that’s feeding off all sorts of things.”
Since her diagnosis in 2021, the Dublin-born presenter has consciously slowed down her lifestyle, ensuring the first 20 minutes of her day are dedicated to quiet meditation and yoga breathing, a stark contrast to the hectic scramble that characterised her life pre-cancer. She concluded: “There is never enough time to do everything you will have to sacrifice something to make way for something else.”