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Dame Julie Walters opens up about shock of bowel cancer diagnosis

Photo credit: Karwai Tang - Getty Images
Photo credit: Karwai Tang - Getty Images

From Prima

Dame Julie Walters has opened up on her bowel cancer diagnosis as she reveals she has been given the all-clear.

The Mamma Mia actress, 69, was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer 18 months ago and underwent chemotherapy.

"I was still thinking, 'That's ridiculous, he must have made a mistake'. I couldn't believe it," Dame Julie told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire.

She explained that she had two primary tumours in her large intestine and that stage three means the cancer spread to nearby lymph nodes but not to distant body parts.

Photo credit: Dave J Hogan - Getty Images
Photo credit: Dave J Hogan - Getty Images

Diagnosed while shooting her latest film, The Secret Garden, she had been to the doctor a year earlier with indigestion and "slight discomfort" before returning with symptoms such as stomach pain, heartburn and vomiting and being referred for a CT scan.

She said her doctor told her early on: “We can fix this,” which kept her hopeful about her recovery throughout treatment.

Julie also explained that she had 30cm of her colon removed in hospital and even though she worried she “may not come round from the anaesthetic”, once she awoke she kept her spirits high with nurses and some reality TV.

"I said to the night nurse, 'Is Love Island on?' – because we were talking about it – and we watched it together.

"It was only a couple of days later I thought, I feel exhausted, and a bit low actually."

She is now doing “really well” and added in the interview: “I've just had a scan, and I know that [I'm] clear.”


What are bowel cancer symptoms?

The NHS states that the three main symptoms of bowel cancer are:

  • Persistent blood in your poo – that happens for no obvious reason or is associated with a change in bowel habit.

  • A persistent change in your bowel habit – which is usually having to poo more and your poo may also become more runny.

  • Persistent lower abdominal (tummy) pain, bloating or discomfort – that's always caused by eating and may be associated with loss of appetite or significant unintentional weight loss.

See your GP If you have one or more of the symptoms of bowel cancer and they have persisted for more than four weeks.

And be sure to take up the NHS bowel cancer screening offered to everyone over the age of 55.

According to charity Bowel Cancer UK, more than 42,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK.

Some 95% of new cases are diagnosed in people over the age of 50.


Dame Julie urged the public that if they thought they had symptoms, “you've got to go and get things checked”.

Victoria Derbyshire's full interview with Dame Julie can be viewed on BBC Two, the BBC News Channel and online from 10:00, and afterwards on the BBC iPlayer.

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