Celebrity Big Brother star Nicola McLean’s horror over lump in her breast
Nicola McLean has opened up about a terrifying cancer scare after she discovered a lump in her breast last year. The former Celebrity Big Brother star immediately feared the worst
Former glamour model Nicola McLean has opened up about a terrifying cancer scare that had her bracing for the worst. The 43-year-old found a lump in her breast last November which immediately propelled her into a state of panic.
In an exclusive chat with the Mirror, she revealed: “I found a lump on my breast while I was moisturising and immediately I broke down in tears and thought, ‘What if it’s cancer?’ … Straight away I thought, ‘I’m going to die’.”
Nicola, who’s been battling anxiety for years, added: “Something like this makes my mind go into overdrive. As someone who has anxiety anyway, this was just awful.”
The mum-of-two, who featured in Celebrity Big Brother in 2012 and again in 2017, got married to former footballer Tom Williams in 2009. The pair share two children, Rocky, 18, and Striker, 14.
While Nicola confided in her husband straight after finding this lump, she couldn’t face telling their sons. She went on: “Tom was amazing – he’s so supportive and we talk about everything. He’s the calm one and was telling me, ‘We don’t know what it is yet,’ and being really rational. I didn’t tell the kids.
“I would never tell the kids something like this – I wouldn’t want to worry them. They know I have anxiety, and I’ll tell them when I’m feeling anxious because I think it’s good to talk about it, but I’d never worry them with something like this.”
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Nicola breathed a sigh of relief when doctors gave her the all-clear, confirming the lump was benign and not cancerous. “I went to the GP, who referred me to the cancer unit. They were great – really quick with everything,” she explained.
“It was a massive relief. But being referred to a cancer unit is scary in itself. The doctor said if the lump had been larger than 4cm it would have had to be removed, but it wasn’t, thankfully.”
The Big Brother celeb has never shied away from discussing her cosmetic surgeries, including her three boob jobs that led to a 32GG bust size. Yet, Nicola confessed that her enhancements have made breast self-examinations more difficult.
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“My implants are so big that it’s hard to know what is mine and what isn’t, which made me not check as much,” she said, before later continuing: “My mum had breast cancer and it was a really gruelling time.
“She had chemotherapy and then radiotherapy and lost all her hair – it was awful. Thankfully, she is fine now and got through it. She’s so inspiring. But that made me worry more because it is hereditary, so of course my mind went straight to cancer when I found the lump.
“You’d think because my mum had it, I’d be more conscious about checking my boobs and keeping an eye on my health. But I went the opposite way. I bury my head in the sand when things like this happen and try to put things off for as long as possible. I just think, ‘I’m going to be okay and live forever,’ but this has been a real wake-up call for me.”