ROYAL AUTHOR KATIE NICHOLL REVEALS HOW SHE FOUGHT RARE LIVER CANCER AFTER CHANCE DISCOVERY

VANITY Fair Royal Correspondent Katie Nicholl has spoken about how her life was saved by surgery after she was diagnosed with a rare type of liver cancer.

In an interview on GB News, she said: “It was a bit of a horror story. It wasn’t the Valentines I’d wanted or expected. I got a call from the Royal Free Hospital.

“I’d been in for an MRI earlier in January [2023] for my liver and I got a call saying that I had Cholangiocarcinoma [bile duct cancer], and I had no idea what it was.

“I just felt that I was possibly perimenopausal. I was getting these heart palpitations. I was getting a really, really bad sense of indigestion, but nothing that was making me overly concerned.

“But I was with a girlfriend…I burst into tears. I said, you know, I just don’t feel myself. And she said, just go see your GP. And I did.

“And actually, full credit to that GP. He was the one that referred me to the cardiology centre to rule out anything with my heart, which was ruled out, of course.

“What no one realised at the time was that there was a tumour which was the size of my palm…it was on my liver, so it was found by accident.”

In a discussion during Breakfast with Eamonn Holmes and Ellie Costello, surgeon Dora Pissanou said she removed over 50% of her liver: “The problem is how much you remove and how much you leave the patient with.

“For a healthy individual, we can leave about 30% of their liver behind and then it can regenerate. But this regeneration starts after six weeks, so the patient has to survive the first six weeks, even with a 30% of liver.”

Katie said: “It’s nearly 80% of what it was now. And just to put that into context, I was told my recovery would be a good four to six months. I think it was 10 weeks after surgery, I was presenting the Coronation for NBC.

“I was very determined and I think Dora and I had a very special connection when we met, and she made it very clear to me. I was like, well, I’d like a second opinion, I’d like a biopsy.

“She’s like, that’s not an option. This will kill you. You have to get it out, and we have to. Ten days later, I was on the operating table…

“I knew it was going to be a fight for my life. And I have these two beautiful children. I was like, I’m going to be here to see them grow up. I mean, that was just non-negotiable.

“But Dora was very clear. She’s like, we’ve got a real chance here, that’s not always the case. This is a silent killer. It can be very, very hard to operate on.

“Dora is one of the few surgeons when people are told they have an inoperable tumour, more often than not, she is able to help. But it’s something that’s on the rise, and people need to be aware of it.”

Katie added: “The greatest message in all of this that I can share is just, if something doesn’t feel right, please go and get it checked out. Don’t just brush it off.

“If I just dismissed this as indigestion or perimenopause or a bit of stress after a busy year, I wouldn’t be here today.”