Jonnie Irwin details plans to celebrate his 50th birthday in Spain amid terminal cancer battle after doctors previously only gave him weeks to live: ‘I won’t let it define me’
Jonnie Irwin is planning to celebrate his milestone 50th birthday, despite doctors believing he wouldn’t make 2023.
The A Place In The Sun presenter is set to jet off to Spain to celebrate his big day amid his terminal cancer battle.
The star revealed last November that his cancer had spread from his lung to his brain after initially being diagnosed in 2020.
Yet Jonnie’s incredible strength has seen him make his twins third birthday back in June, a milestone medical professionals believed he would never see.
Speaking to The Sun, the father-of-three admitted: ‘Lying in the hospice, I thought I’d had it. I was on the cusp of death.’
‘I won’t let cancer define me’: Jonnie Irwin plans to celebrate 50th birthday as he jets off to Spain with his family amid terminal cancer battle
Health update: The star revealed last November that his cancer had spread from his lung to his brain after initially being diagnosed in 2020
Two weeks prior to Rafa and Cormac’s birthday Jonnie weighed just six stone and was too weak to walk.
‘At my weakest point I thought, “This is it, this is the beginning of the end”. I couldn’t eat, I had incredible pain in my back and was just skin and bones,’ he added.
But Jonnie refused to give up, and after once he returned home to his family he began forcing himself out of bed, drinking protein shakes and spending hours in an oxygen tent in a bid to curb any growth of the disease.
With the help of treatment, including chemotherapy, he has now built his strength up and weighs 8st 6lb.
‘I won’t let cancer define me,’ said Jonnie.
And his strength has paid off, as the star returned to TV screens on Monday.
He revealed he was returning to British TV to film a home renovation programme for BBC Morning Live in Newcastle.
Taking to Instagram to announce the news, he wrote: ‘Hope you enjoyed the short film I made for @bbcmorninglive this morning- if you missed it, it’s now on iplayer. The next one is on next Monday morning.’
Difficult: Two weeks prior to his twins Rafa and Cormac’s third birthday in June, Jonnie weighed just six stone and was too weak to walk
Good news: Jonnie Irwin confirmed his return to TV screens on Tuesday amid his ongoing battle with terminal cancer
he’s back! And it was good news on Monday as he revealed he was returning to British TV to film a home renovation programme for BBC Morning Live in Newcastle
Jonnie has defied the odds since he was given six months to live when he was first diagnosed with the disease.
The star has kept positive throughout the difficult journey, giving his fans regular updates on his condition.
He revealed he has been left shocked at his reflection in the mirror during his darkest days.
Jonnie also advocated for telling doctors what you need after he made the decision to come off morphine.
Doctors at St Oswald’s Hospice in Newcastle then switched his medication from morphine to fentanyl.
When he was eventually discharged from the hospice to spend time with his family, wife Jess and his three children Rex, four, Rafa and Cormac, three, he revealed he realised they didn’t believe he had long left.
His wife admitted she thought her husband was going to die and it was devastating thinking he wouldn’t make the twins birthday.
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