Victoria Derbyshire thanks viewers for 'magnificent messages' as she returns to work following mastectomy
BBC journalist Victoria Derbyshire was back on air today for the first time since having a mastectomy.
The broadcaster, 47, was praised for sharing her experience in a video diary from her hospital bed after last month’s operation.
Ahead of her return to BBC2 and the BBC News Channel today, she tweeted: “Thank you for all your magnificent messages in the last week.”
Derbyshire was diagnosed with breast cancer in July and made an announcement on Twitter in August.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Thank you for all your magnificent messages in the last week. Really looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow. — Victoria Derbyshire (@vicderbyshire) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/vicderbyshire/status/656118889257021440" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3094866-https://twitter.com/vicderbyshire/status/656118889257021440" data-vars-event-id="c23">October 19, 2015</a>
She released a video diary following her mastectomy at Ashford Hospital in Surrey on September 24.
Speaking into a handheld camera, Derbyshire told viewers that her malignant tumour and three lymph nodes had been removed.
“The word cancer has such a chilling effect on people, me included, but I’ve learned over the last few weeks that this illness doesn’t have to be elevated to some uber powerful status,” she said.
“It’s simply an illness which the NHS treat with expertise and care."
Speaking about why she made the video diary she said: “The reason I wanted to talk about what has happened to me is that I am a pretty open person. But also because more than one in three people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. And here's the thing: having cancer is manageable.
“Having a mastectomy is totally do-able. I didn’t know that until I got cancer. And that’s what I want to tell people. I know everyone is different, and has different experiences. This is mine. And I hope you don’t mind me sharing that with you.”
