Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts has shared an emotional celebratory statement after being told she is now free of stomach cancer.
Last year, the presenter revealed she was undergoing cancer treatment, and later had surgery to remove a tumour from her stomach.
On Monday morning, a jubilant Adele posted a photo of herself leaping in the air outside a hospital, revealing “the day I’ve been waiting for” had finally arrived.
“Hearing the words ‘you’re free of cancer’ absolutely took my breath away,” she told her followers. “I keep replaying it in my mind. It was the most beautiful sound I think I’ve ever heard.
“Even though I was praying Dr Khan would say that to me I don’t think my head let me believe it until I heard it. Everything we’ve been through seems to be swirling around in my body and life feels a bit surreal at the moment… BUT I AM SO GRATEFUL! I am counting my blessings.”
Adele continued: “I am also in awe of anyone dealing with cancer. The courage, the strength, the determination… and at times, the humour you have shown has been nothing short of super human.
“You’ve inspired me and given me the fire to never give up. You’re warriors and it’s thanks to seeing you being so strong that’s kept me going. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Sometimes it took me all my strength just to get out of bed and face the day but I still did it. Every day I made sure I did something to do a huge f*ck you to cancer. It’s taken too many of us. I didn’t know what fate had in store for me but I knew I’d never stop trying.”
She went on to shout out her family, friends and anyone who has “taken time to message me, send love or positive thoughts” since her diagnosis.
“You’ve kept me going and helped me slay this beast,” Adele wrote. “That’s one thing Dr Khan said to me. Your mind can go to dark places when dealing with cancer but that’s the one thing I knew I had control over. My body might have been dying – it’s still so sore now – but there was no way I was letting it destroy my spirit.
“If anything it’s made me happier than I’ve ever been.”
Referring to her stoma bag, which she playfully named Audrey, Adele added: “Going through the darkness has given me the light. It’s transformed me, given me my little stoma Audrey, brought amazing people into my life and it’s time now for me to start really living.
“Thank you to Dr Khan, his team and the whole of the NHS. You are angels amongst us. Thank you for saving my life.
“Thank you to my Kate. The reason I had the strength to get out of bed every morning. I will never leave you and I will always find you. In this life and the next.”
Earlier this year, Adele received praise for a photo-shoot she took part in for Women’s Health magazine, in which her stoma bag was on display.
“Being diagnosed with cancer has meant I’ve learned to appreciate my body; be grateful that it works; be grateful they found the tumour in time to remove it and be grateful [that modern medicine means I can] have a stoma,” she told the publication.
“I feel like I love my body more than ever.”