Victoria Derbyshire left 'devastated' after worrying change during health ordeal
BBC Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire has been open about her breast cancer journey, and has now shared her thoughts on a brave health decision made by the new Prime Minister's wife
BBC Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire has been open about her breast cancer journey, and has now shared her thoughts on a brave health decision made by the new Prime Minister's wife11:29, 27 Jul 2026Victoria Derbyshire has revealed she was simply grateful to be "alive" as she opened up about a significant change brought about by a life-changinghealthdiagnosis. Victoria's remarks cameas she discussed newly appointed Prime MinisterAndy Burnham'swife, marketing executive Marie-France van Heel, and an extraordinarily courageous decision she made at just 40-years-old. She lost her sister, Claire, tobreastcancerin 2006, while her mother and another sister, Louise, were also diagnosed with the illness. Van Heel, who was also at risk, chose to undergo a pre-emptive double mastectomy. Victoria knows all too well what abreast cancer diagnosisinvolves, having received one herself in 2015. She recently reflected on the side effects of chemotherapy, recalling how her hair started falling out, leaving "clumps" in the sink, which left her "devastated" at the time. She went on to have a single mastectomy, but couldn't "give a stuff" about alterations to her appearance. What was important was that she was alive. Victoria wrote in The i Paper: "The chemo I was going through to keep me alive having had breast cancer had caught up with me, and I was pretty devastated. "Would I need to wear a wig? Will it ever grow back properly? These were just two of the questions that raced around my mind. My appearance had already changed - I'd undergone a single mastectomy and I knew I looked different which somehow didn't bother me as much. "That breast had cancer in it and I was glad it was gone. I didn't really give a stuff about whether I looked lopsided, I was alive and I was going to see my boys grow up. "TheBBCNewsnight presenter was 46-years-old when she received her diagnosis, having noticed symptoms that included an inverted nipple. She subsequently underwentchemotherapy, a mastectomy and 30 sessions of radiotherapy. Victoria, who previously featured on I'm a Celebrity. . . Get Me Out of Here!, thankfully received the all-clear 10 months after her initial diagnosis. It also appears she discovered a strategy for managing the pain. She toldThe Timesin 2019: "I have now found the secret to banishing the aches - exercise. Going to the gym regularly is a first for me. It's a joy and a relief that the stretching and strengthening of muscles has dramatically reduced the pain. "Article continues belowThis follows Victoria sharing a heartfelt on-air tribute. In June, at the conclusion of Newsnight, Victoria paid her respects to Sir Alex Younger, former Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, whom she described as a "friend" of the programme. Sir Alex, who tragically passed away aged 62, offered "incredible expertise and wisdom", she noted. Victoria said: "Before we go, we wanted to pay tribute to a man we considered a friend of Newsnight: Sir Alex Younger, former head of MI6, who we learned today had died of cancer at the age of just 62. "As an ex-Chief of Secret Intelligence Service, he regularly sat alongside me on this sofa, and in the middle of tumultuous world events, shared his incredible expertise and wisdom, and whatever was going on, however frightening or volatile, he always managed to make you feel slightly better about it. "