‘Loose Women’ anchor Andrea McLean has revealed a battle with a rare blood disease left her fearing for her life.
Andrea underwent a hysterectomy in 2016, following a lengthy battle with debilitating endometriosis, and during the procedure, it was discovered that she had a rare blood condition
During a consultation, she was then diagnosed with medium vessel vasculitis, an experience she told the Mirror made her “reevaluate things”.
“I suppose you could say it was a wake-up call,” she said. “I wrote down a list of ambitions that I hadn’t pushed myself towards through fear or lack of confidence.
“I needed to face up to the reality I held myself back subconsciously because I was scared. And with the threat of serious illness hanging over me, I now knew that I couldn’t hold myself back any longer.
“I didn’t want to look back on my life and wish I’d been brave enough to do something that was within my power to do, but a fear of failure held me back.”
Describing how she channelled the fear her illness had caused, Andrea continued: “When you think life is coming to an end, you’ve never wanted to live so much. I stopped being afraid of saying what I wanted. And I stopped caring what people thought of me.
“I’ve been given a second chance and I’m not going to waste it. There’s a lesson for everyone there. Don’t doubt yourself. Don’t give up.”
Andrea previously discussed the illness on ‘Loose Women’, but held back on how fearful the disease had left her. She told The Mirror she’s now been given the all-clear.
Shortly before her hysterectomy and medium vessel vasculitis diagnosis, Andrea spoke candidly on ‘Loose Women’ about her mental health, having struggled with postnatal depression after the birth of her second child.