TV presenter Jo Wilson has revealed she was diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer this summer and is undergoing life radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment.
The Scottish mum of one, who has worked for Sky Sports News since 2011, and has been a presenter for the channel since 2015, exclusively shares her news in OK! magazine this week.
“The last person in the public eye with cervical cancer was Jade Goody,” says Jo, who lives in the Cotswolds with her partner of six years, Dan, 42 and daughter Mabel who is just two this month.
“After Jade’s death, more women went for smear tests, but now one in three who are eligible don’t go. I really want to change that.
“If I can save just one other life by being open about my battle then it’s worth speaking out.”
After quitting hectic London life in 2020, Jo and Dan, 42, looked forward to raising Mabel and perhaps a future sibling, in their idyllic village.
But when Jo went for a smear test this June, the gynaecologist immediately spotted the signs of cancer. By July, further tests confirmed the presenter had stage 3b cervical cancer, with the disease having spread to two of her lymph nodes.
“I cried while a lovely nurse held my hand,” she told OK, describing the moment she received the shattering diagnosis. “Then I cried to Dan, and he was quite shocked because he didn’t really think it would be cancer. You're desperately hoping there's a chance it might not be.”
Jo had always been vigilant about her health and kept up to date with her smear tests. She had been due one while she was pregnant, but after a traumatic forceps delivery with her daughter Mabel in September 2020, from which they both caught sepsis, she delayed going for a smear as she feared “being prodded down there.”
By the time she saw a doctor the cancer had taken hold. She is currently undergoing life saving treatment.
“I said to the doctor ‘Am I going to die?’” admits Jo, who turns 38 on September 25.
“‘You're not going to die,’ he reassured me. ‘It's very treatable, and it's very curable.’
"I try to hold onto that, but there are no guarantees. The percentages are still a bit ropey. There's something like a 70% success rate for this treatment. So I'll take that. But you do still think about the fact there's a 30% chance it won't work.
“The lack of control can be quite difficult, because the treatment will either work or it won’t. I’m trying to live in the present and get this through.”
Her weekly planner, in which Jo used to write her work shifts, is now filled with her hospital appointments which she then ticks off after each session. She has lost a stone since the diagnosis and is tired but is determined to remain optimistic about the outcome.
“I try to believe everything else is in my favour, my age and I am fit. I must hang on to the positives.
“It’s terrifying to think I could have put it off even longer. Cervical cancer can be quite slow growing. But it’s different for everybody.
“I don’t want anyone to have to go through what I am right now.”
This September is Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month 2022. Jo’s Trust is the UK’s leading cervical cancer charity. For more information about cervical cancer see the website, there is also a helpline 0808 802 8000.
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