Carol Vorderman opens up about her mum's terminal cancer diagnosis

It was a sombre Mother’s Day for Carol Vorderman yesterday, with the TV star taking to social media to reveal that her 88-year-old mum, Edwina, had been diagnosed with terminal cancer earlier in the week.

Now Carol has opened up some more about the devastating diagnosis, admitting that her mother refuses to let the family be sad.

Writing on Twitter yesterday, Carol shared: “A precious Mother’s Day x This wk Mum & I found out she has terminal cancer. She’s 88, beautiful inside and out & I love her beyond measure x [sic]”.

The 56-year-old star then shared a touching family photo that showed Edwina – who also goes by the name of Jean – surrounded by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchild for a Mother’s Day meal.

Carol later added to The Mirror: “I love her beyond measure. We are laughing so much and she is having a lovely time. She refuses to let us be sad so we are taking our lead from her.”

Jean continued: “At my age I don’t want to undergo any further operations or chemotherapy treatment which can’t cure these new cancers anyway.

“Now my family and me will concentrate on being happy and celebrating the time we have together. I’m refusing to let them be sad.”

Carol has been inundated with well-wishes following her revelation, with many of her fans rushing to offer their sympathy.

Edwina has battled cancer three times in the past 12 years and Carol regularly keeps her fans updated on her mum’s progress, tweeting in 2015: “Mum having 3rd cancer op today but this op is minor compared to the previous ones thankfully.

“Mum has had a 3lb ovarian tumour removed (miraculously it hadn’t spread).

“Then she had kidney cancer so half of her right kidney was removed, this time it’s a pretty big malignant melanoma, but Mum says ‘goodness me, this is nothing. I’ll be in and out in no time.’

“Scans have shown this skin cancer hasn’t spread either so we consider ourselves lucky children today. [sic]”

Carol is very close to her mum after her father left them when she was just three weeks old, and it was even Edwina who put in an application for Carol to appear on Countdown – the TV role that shot her into superstardom.

She previously shared: “I used to drive to Windsor twice a week to see Mum, and sleep on her floor.

“In the end, I borrowed a deposit from my older brother so that Mum and I could buy a £21,000 three-bedroom terrace house in Leeds. I was 21 years old and the house was an absolute tip – but those were some of the happiest days of my life.

“Three weeks after Mum moved to Leeds, she spotted an advertisement in the local paper asking for a girl who was good at maths to help present a new TV show, Countdown. She sent in an application for me and I ended up with the job.”

The job ended up changing Carol’s life forever, giving her and her family financial security as well as launching her TV career.

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