Julia Bradbury says death 'looked her in the eyes'
Julia Bradbury has shared that her close encounter with mortality has dramatically heightened her commitment to health. In an emotional reveal to The Times Weekend magazine, the 54-year-old television host recounted her harrowing experience with breast cancer, diagnosed in 2021.
The illness led to a mastectomy during which her breast and two lymph glands were removed before undergoing reconstruction. Since then, she has given up alcohol and reshaped her life's priorities.
Despite some dissent on social media regarding her lifestyle changes, she remains resolute, stating: "I wasn’t close to death, but death looked me in the eyes. So I am more focused on my health than I ever have been."
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To support her newfound focus, she maintains daily healthy habits, saying, "I don’t drink, I eat a healthy diet and exercise every day."
Julia added: "When I came home from my mastectomy, I promised I would spend time outside every day, and that is my mantra, however poor it might be in this shitty winter." For the latest TV & Showbiz news, sign up to our newsletter
Now given the all-clear, she reflected on advice received from a doctor which has helped her reconsider her approach to energy expenditure: "He said, ‘This drive that you have – you’re running on a credit card. You can push through all sorts of things. But is that the best thing for you? ’."
These words led her to a profound realization: "I realised you don’t have to win every race. You don’t have to overcome everything. I don’t want to max out the credit card."
The presenter previously opened up about her journey in an ITV documentary, Julia Bradbury: Breast Cancer And Me, which followed her as she grappled with her diagnosis and prepared for a single mastectomy. She also frequently shares wellness and fitness advice with her over 270,000 Instagram followers.
However, she disclosed that she has faced criticism from individuals stating, "I was healthy, I go to the gym, I got cancer, and now its metastasised and I’ve got secondary cancer. So are you blaming me for my illness? ". In response to these allegations, she said: "No. All I’m saying is, this is what I went through. It was a wake-up call, and it made me look at life differently."
"It made me prioritise my sleep, emotional health, and spend more time with my loved ones."
"If I drink more than four units of alcohol a week, my risk of reoccurrence increases by 28%. But people find me giving up drinking infuriating."
Bradbury, who is a mother to 13-year-old son Zephyr, and nine-year-old twins Xanthe and Zena, admitted that having children later in life has led her to be less "patient" than she feels she should be at times, after becoming more set in her ways.
"People think that after you’ve got a cancer diagnosis, you become this beautiful angel with a halo, and a super mum and do everything right", she added. "But no, you make the same mistakes. I lose my temper, and I can hear myself saying things that I can’t believe I’m saying."
"None of us know what we’re doing, really. We’re just doing our best. I know they do have lots of love. They are told that they’re loved every day."
