Laughter’s the best medicine for star Julia
Sister tells how pair kept spirits up since diagnosis
Former Countryfile presenter Julia Bradbury is laughing her way back to health after a mastectomy.
The TV star’s sister Gina Bradbury Fox said the pair have cried together – but there has also been lots of giggles.
She was on hand every day in hospital to wash Julia’s hair, put her slippers on, do whatever was needed.
When Gina set up a WhatsApp group of 30 f r iends , Jul ia nicknamed it the My Left Tit Support Group.
And the pair giggled wildly when Julia got caught up in her own IV tube in hospital.
Gina said: “Emotionally, I have been with Julia every step of the way. I feel her pain. We’re joined at the hip, real ly. It ’ s a complete rollercoaster. We fluctuate from hysteria to being in floods of tears.”
Julia, 51, is full of praise for Gina, saying: “We’ve shared tears but also lots of laughs. Gina has been an absolute rock, doing what she always does brilliantly, swinging into action, being a practical and emotional mainstay.”
The sisters live near each other in north-west London and Gina has been helping Julia’s partner Gerard with their brood – son Zeph, 10, and twin daughters Zena and Xanthe, six.
The TV host is yet to find out whether her breast cancer has spread but refuses to let it define her – vowing after her operation that she wanted to “hug my children and get on with our lives”.
Gina, 60, a divorcee with a 23-year-old son, lives a life away from the limelight but shares her sister’s love of nature.
Julia’s diagnosis came in September on an annual recall – having last year found
a lump which proved to be a cluster of benign cysts.
Before her op, Jul ia posted a powerful image on social media of her with
her hand over her breast, saying “goodbye left boob”. A simi la r memor y makes Gina well up. She said: “Julia’s not really a runner but last week she came in, hugged me and burst out crying. She said, ‘ I’ve just been for a run.’
“I said, ‘But you don’t like running?’ “She said, ‘No, I know, but I wanted to feel both my boobs bouncing for the last time.’ That, to me, was so powerful.”
She points to the hundreds of emails she has received since Julia revealed her cancer. Gina added: “We’ve had handwritten messages, cards with f lowers, emails from cancer survivors, men and women, from 25 to 85, all wishing her support. It’s so moving and humbling that people have taken the trouble to do this.”
The sisters’ Outdoor Guide Foundation aims to raise £5million over six years to provide children with clothing and wellies. They want to donate at least 10 waterproof suits and wellies to every primary school.