James Whale, 71, says ‘this could be my last Christmas’ in heartbreaking health update as he stops treatment for terminal cancer
James Whale has said ‘this could be my last Christmas’ as he issued a heartbreaking health update after stopping cancer treatment.
The 71-year-old broadcaster is living with stage four kidney cancer, which spread to his spine, brain and lungs, after being diagnosed in 2020.
He was previously given just three months to live when he contracted kidney cancer in 2000.
Speaking in a new interview on Tuesday, James explained that he has chosen ‘quality of life’ over quantity as he ends his treatment and focuses on ‘making memories.’
He told The Sun: ‘This could be my last Christmas.’
Making memories: James Whale, 71, has said ‘this could be my last Christmas’ as he issued a heartbreaking health update after stopping cancer treatment on Tuesday (pictured this week)
James continued: ‘Basically, I have to choose between the quality and quantity of life and I’ve chosen quality so that I can have a good time and make great memories with my lovely wife, Nadine.
‘I’ve had a good life, I can’t complain. But I’m just gonna make the next months as entertaining and interesting as I can, which is all any of us can do.’
Doctors removed one of James’ kidneys 20 years ago when he was first diagnosed with cancer.
In June he revealed he had come off all the steroids he was on, and now ‘felt better’ because they made him look like a ‘balloon’.
He told the Daily Mirror: ‘I’m kind of at the end, the end of my treatment. When I lose a lot more weight when I get really ill, I’ll look fantastic.
‘I’ve just come off all the steroids I was on, which made me look like a bloody balloon. I’m feeling better from that.’
But James insisted it is ‘more difficult’ for his wife Nadine Lamont-Brown to watch him battling terminal cancer.
He said: ‘Some days I might feel sorry for myself. I feel sorry for my wife really. It’s more difficult for her.’
Health: The 71-year-old broadcaster is living with stage four kidney cancer, which spread to his spine, brain and lungs, after being diagnosed in 2020 for a second time
Nadine added: ‘He’s had all the possible treatments, he’s on a clinical trial but we’re probably going to be winding up on that quite soon. It’s stopped working.’
In February this year James spoke of how he considered euthanasia following his terminal cancer diagnosis.
Reflecting on his terminal diagnosis, James admitted he previously thought it would be ‘easier’ to go to assisted dying clinic Dignitas in Switzerland.
Speaking in an interview alongside his wife Nadine, he admitted he was thinking about the affect his diagnosis would have on his loved ones.
‘I am terminally ill, it would have been easier all round,’ he said. ‘The reason I wanted to go to Dignitas was because I was thinking of others, not me.’
He told The Express : ‘I’m not scared of dying. I want to be buried in the churchyard at the top of the hill. It’s a great view.’
But James revealed he was ‘glad’ he didn’t make the decision to go because it has given him ‘two great years’ with his wife Nadine.
Elsewhere in the interview, James heartbreakingly spoke about the struggles of his terminal cancer, admitting he doesn’t want to ‘go on forever’ feeling as unwell as he does now.
The TV personality also reflected on his relationship with Nadine, saying he told her they should ‘cool off’ their romance when he was first diagnosed with cancer when they first started dating.
He said: ‘It was so unfair on her, so I said, “I think we should cool it and not see each other’, and she replied, “Oh that’s nice, so if I’d just been diagnosed with a terminal illness, you wouldn’t come and see me any more”, so we carried on.’
Side by side: Speaking in a new interview, James explained that he has chosen ‘quality of life’ over quantity as he ends his treatment and focuses on ‘making memories with his wife (James and wife Nadine pictured in June)
They then got married at Tenterden Town Hall in Kent surrounded by their loved ones in October 2021, with Nadine saying they didn’t have the ‘luxury’ of time.
The wedding came 14 months after the radio host revealed that he is battling spine, brain and kidney cancer, and three years after his first wife Melinda died.
Melinda tragically died in May 2018 just months after she was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer.
James and Melinda were married for 48 years and had two sons James and Peter. They also have two teenage grandchildren, Oscar and Ella.
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