JACQUIE BELTRAO tells of her joy after receiving her cancer all-clear
SHARES HER RELIEF ON FAMILY HOLIDAY AS SCAN SHOWS SHE IS CANCER FREE
Looking tanned, toned and, most important of all, glowing with health as she basks in the sun on a family holiday in the Algarve, Jacquie Beltrao has everything to smile about.
For the Sky News sports presenter – sharing these private snaps from a two-week break in Praia da Luz with hello! – recently received the best news ever: she is finally free of cancer.
“I never expected a result like this in a million years,” Jacquie, 56, who has battled the condition for seven and a half years, exclusively tells hello!. “And I am absolutely thrilled.”
The mum of three reveals how she and her family were determined to get away from it all after being informed in May that her stage 4 breast cancer had spread to her legs and spine.
“We knew that with Covid restrictions, it was risky to book a holiday abroad,” she says. “But we were determined to go and were prepared to jump through hoops to get there. I didn’t know how many holidays I had left, but after the results of my latest scan came back, this turned out to be the best holiday we’ve ever had.”
Jacquie shared a huge villa in Portugal with her husband, social media executive Eduardo, 56, and their three children – Amelia, 23, Tiago, 20, and Jorge, 19 – and her sister Lorraine and her three children. “The weather was fantastic, I cooked some delicious meals and we had fun. Tiago loved water-bombing in our swimming pool and, in the evenings, we’d spend hours hanging out in the massive games room.
“Watching the kids enjoy each other’s company and having a laugh was special. I’ve no idea when we’ll be able to get them together
again as the boys are going off to uni soon, but this was the perfect time to make happy memories together. I’m so proud of my children and feel as if I’ve equipped them for life.”
GRUELLING JOURNEY
Jacquie has experienced a rollercoaster of emotions with every fresh hope and setback since she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013. She has been applauded for sharing candid updates with her 100,000 social media followers during her treatment – describing multiple rounds of chemotherapy, hair loss and cold caps, encouraging women to go for mammograms and detailing the devastation and elation of bad and good news.
“I want people to feel empowered, to know that they can still work, bring up their kids and look good,” she says. “You can still live your life, enjoy your life and never have to give up.”
In a bid to keep her cancer at bay, the former Olympic gymnast has also spoken of how she keeps fit, practises yoga, eats healthily and has cut sugar from her diet.
She has tried holistic therapies alongside conventional treatments such as olaparib, a targeted medicine she received after the recent diagnosis of the cancer’s spread.
Within eight weeks, tumours that had shown up so prominently on a scan had vanished.
Jacquie recalls receiving the uplifting news during a car journey she and her family will never forget. Her husband Eduardo’s mother Anna had just died and he had been trying to get a flight from Heathrow to her home in Brazil when suddenly Jacquie’s mobile rang.
“It was my oncologist with the results of the scan I’d had only a couple of hours earlier,” she says. “‘There’s no evidence of cancer,’ she said. ‘Your scan is completely clear.’ I was stunned and told Eduardo and the boys. At that moment our tears of grief also became tears of relief.” However, Jacquie is proceeding with caution. “I’ve learnt that life can be so uncertain,” she says. “But this result is the best I can hope for and I am so grateful.”
Follow Jacquie at @SkyJacquie.
‘I want people to feel empowered… You can still enjoy your life and never have to give up’