Perth-born Sky Sports News presenter Jo Wilson has announced she has been diagnosed with stage three cervical cancer.
Jo, who was born and raised in the Fair City, went for a smear test in June – where the gynaecologist immediately spotted signs of the disease.
Further tests in July confirmed the 37-year-old has stage 3b cervical cancer, which has spread to two of her lymph nodes.
Speaking to OK! Magazine about her diagnosis, Jo – a former Perth High School pupil – said: “I cried while a lovely nurse held my hand.
‘I said to the doctor, am I going to die?’
“Then I cried to (husband) Dan, and he was quite shocked because he didn’t really think it would be cancer.
“You’re desperately hoping there’s a chance it might not be.”
Jo says she had been due a smear test when pregnant with daughter Mabel, who was born in September 2020.
She had a forceps delivery, from which both her and Mabel caught sepsis.
Jo – a big St Johnstone fan – says that she delayed going for a smear as she feared “being prodded down there”.
But by the time she did get checked the cancer had taken hold.
Jo, who turns 38 this month, told the magazine: “I said to the doctor, ‘Am I going to die?’
“He reassured me by saying, ‘You’re not going to die. It’s very treatable, and it’s very curable.’
‘The percentages are still a bit ropey’
“I try to hold on to that, but there are no guarantees.
“The percentages are still a bit ropey. There’s something like a 70% success rate for this treatment, so I’ll take that.
“But you do still think about the fact there’s a 30% chance it won’t work.
“The lack of control can be quite difficult, because the treatment will either work or it won’t. I’m trying to live in the present and get this through.”
Jo, who represented Perth and her county at athletics as a teenager, says she has lost a stone and feels tired since her diagnosis – but remains optimistic.
As I begin my final week of treatment I can’t begin to express how much that support has helped me through
She said: “I try to believe everything else is in my favour, my age and I am fit. I must hang on to the positives.
“It’s terrifying to think I could have put it off even longer. Cervical cancer can be quite slow growing. But it’s different for everybody.
“I don’t want anyone to have to go through what I am right now.”
Posting on Instagram after sharing the news, she added: “Thank you to everyone who has supported me through the last couple of months – as I begin my final week of treatment I can’t begin to express how much that support has helped me through.”
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