Dr Philippa Kaye, a GP and author who regularly appears on ITV's This Morning, has shared an emotional health update after recently undergoing a hysterectomy. In a candid Instagram post, she admitted she is 'struggling' with the changes to her body caused by cancer and treatment.
Cancer battle and hysterectomy
Philippa, 46, was diagnosed with stage two bowel cancer in 2019. She underwent six months of chemotherapy and a 12-hour surgery to remove a final cancer lesion. Appearing on This Morning in 2020 after being given the all-clear, she said: "For the first time in nearly 18 months I am able to say that I am cancer free, that is huge, and I am hugely excited to be out of my day pyjamas to speak to you!"
In March, Philippa informed her followers that she had a hysterectomy due to a 'cancer risk'. Sharing selfies, she opened up about the procedure. She wrote: "Thoughts I have about my hysterectomy that do and don't make sense. Intellectually I understand: It was causing problems and pain. I was not planning to have further pregnancies. So it wasn't serving a purpose, was hurting and was a cancer risk."
She added: "Emotionally though… it was part of me, it housed my babies, cancer forced me to make this decision, otherwise it would still be there. And the ones I know don't make sense but are still here… Am I somehow less of a woman without my womb and ovaries? I know this is not true."
Emotional update on Instagram
Returning to Instagram this week, Philippa provided an update. She noted that it's been 'hard' seeing the effect cancer has had on her body. Sharing a slideshow of pictures, she talked about the various things she's noticed after treatment. Her first selfie was captioned: "I am struggling."
She clarified that she was struggling with the 'changes to my body from cancer'. The third picture showed a scar down her stomach from surgery. She said: "It isn't the scars. Those are the tattoos of my battles. They tell the story of how resilient my body can be."
Philippa added: "It is the other changes. From the premature menopause from treatment and now my ovaries have been surgically removed. Despite being on HRT there are charts (hormone replacement therapy)."
Support from followers
Philippa went on to say that her hair is thinner, her skin has more wrinkles and dark marks, and her body is softer. In spite of her worries, she stated that she's 'grateful to be here'. She said: "My hair is thinner. My skin changed with more wrinkles and dark marks. My body doesn't work as before and now it doesn't seem to look as before. I know it is vain but sometimes I wanna look in the mirror and see the person I was before… sometimes."
Captioning the post, she wrote: "I am very aware this is a superficial post. I am also incredibly grateful for all my tremendous and how my body works for me. But sometimes it is hard not to look down and notice all the changes I see."
The comments section saw Philippa receive a wave of support, including from her ITV co-star Myleene Klass. The Loose Women star penned: "Thank you for sharing your immense vulnerability and strength therein. You're one amazing human."
