Channel 4 news presenter Bridgid Nzekwu after her double masectomy. Her surgeon opted for the ‘tummy tuck’ reconstruction method.
Fluid being drained from Bridgid’s chest (left), and the prosthetic nipples she has yet to use
The actress Angelina Jolie made global headlines a couple of months ago for revealing her double masectomy through a signed article in The New York Times.
This week, in The Sunday Times, London, Bridgid Nzekwu, a Channel 4 news presenter reveals her own heroic battle against cancer after she discovered a malignant lump in her left breast.
Over a five-page article (paywall), Nzekwu, 42, recounts her double masectomy in April with the kind of candour that should be a lesson to all those fighting the dreaded ‘C’.
“If you saw me dressed now, you would never know anything that happened. It’s three months since the operation and I’m back to my original bra size. I have enough energy to play with [my son] Oscar, take him to and from nursery, go shopping, cook, do housework. I’ve even started an exercise DVD.
“So far I haven’t used my prosthetic nipples—I quite like the look of my new boobs as they are which I hadn’t expected. They make me feel proud and defiant.
“My new slimeline tummy will take more getting used to. It still looks quite ugly and will do until the revision surgery is completed. Soon I will be going back to work. I’m pretty sure I won’t feel nervous going back on camera; it’s only without my clothes on that I feel self-conscious about my new body.
“Overall, this experience has been less traumatic than I feared.”
Photographs: courtesy The Sunday Times, London
IJR 