EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS
TRISHA GODDARD
READY TO SHARE HER SECRET
REVEALS HER CANCER HAS RETURNED — BUT SHE’S STILL LIVING LIFE TO THE FULL
Trisha gives off as much warmth as ever as she smiles for the camera, speaking movingly about how she is coming to terms with the fact that her cancer is incurable
SWEATER: & OTHER STORIES
Having a conversation with Trisha Goddard is like riding on a rollercoaster. It runs at high speed with dips and peaks, punctuated by loud, throaty laughs. And although we are speaking on a video call, not in person, her exuberance and energy fill the room.
Apart from her cropped hair and slight frame, there is no indication that the TV presenter is once again living with cancer – news that she has kept private up until now, telling only a handful of people. Journeying alongside her, and holding her hand throughout, is her husband Allen, with whom she lives in Connecticut and who joins us for this exclusive interview.
In 2008, Trisha, now 66, was diagnosed with, and recovered from, breast cancer. Nineteen months ago, she discovered that it had returned, this time to her bones, specifically her right hip. She has been diagnosed with secondary breast cancer – also known as metastatic or stage 4 breast cancer – for which there is treatment, but no cure.
“It’s not going to go away,” she says, simply. “And with that knowledge comes grief, and fear. But I must keep enjoying what I have always enjoyed.”
Her decision to speak publicly about her illness is, in part, to relieve the strain of keeping it to herself. “I can’t lie; I can’t keep making up stories. It gets to a stage, after a year and a half, when keeping a secret becomes more of a burden than anything else.