Dame Esther Rantzen was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2023.
Dame Esther Rantzen was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2023 (Image: Getty)
Dame Esther Rantzen’s daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, has issued an update on her mother’s health, revealing their family are “cherishing every moment” they have with her. Dame Esther, 85, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in January 2023 and is a supporter of Assisted Dying. Appearing on Channel 5’s Vanessa on Monday (June 8), Rebecca opened up about her mother’s current condition as she nears her 86th birthday, admitting she is as surprised as anyone that she is “still here”.
She said: “It’s her birthday coming up. She’s going to be 86 which is brilliant. She’s as astonished as anybody that she’s still here. We are so grateful. She was diagnosed three years ago with terminal stage four lung and breast cancer so every day is a wonderful miracle and we really are cherishing it.
Rebecca added: “We are just so grateful to have her here.”
When asked if Dame Esther still has quality of life, Rebecca replied: “Her garden is her passion. It is gorgeous. She’s an early adopter of rewilding. Monty Don has nothing on her. They built this garden from nothing. It was a dilapidated farm. I got married there.”
Vanessa mentioned whether it’s true that Dame Esther ran through the garden naked, with Rebecca joking that it occurs most weekends, adding: “Nudity is her happy place.”
In April, Dame Esther made a plea ahead of the debate on the Assisted Dying Bill. The TV presenter has remained a vocal champion of the bill, which aims to “shorten our death” for those suffering from terminal illnesses.
“Every day is a wonderful miracle and we really are cherishing it…”
However, both supporters and opponents of the bill are now acknowledging that the legislation will not become law in the current session of Parliament after it stalled in the House of Lords.
During a pre-recorded appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain today, the veteran broadcaster said: “I will obviously keep battling, not on my own behalf but on behalf of all the future generations that deserve a proper, compassionate, humanitarian bill.
“Doctors used to ease people out of life; that’s what we need, we need the opportunity to ask for assistance. Not to shorten our lives but to shorten our de@ths.”
Dame Esther Rantzen was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2023 (Image: Getty)
Dame Esther Rantzen’s daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, has issued an update on her mother’s health, revealing their family are “cherishing every moment” they have with her. Dame Esther, 85, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in January 2023 and is a supporter of Assisted Dying. Appearing on Channel 5’s Vanessa on Monday (June 8), Rebecca opened up about her mother’s current condition as she nears her 86th birthday, admitting she is as surprised as anyone that she is “still here”.
She said: “It’s her birthday coming up. She’s going to be 86 which is brilliant. She’s as astonished as anybody that she’s still here. We are so grateful. She was diagnosed three years ago with terminal stage four lung and breast cancer so every day is a wonderful miracle and we really are cherishing it.
Rebecca added: “We are just so grateful to have her here.”
When asked if Dame Esther still has quality of life, Rebecca replied: “Her garden is her passion. It is gorgeous. She’s an early adopter of rewilding. Monty Don has nothing on her. They built this garden from nothing. It was a dilapidated farm. I got married there.”
Vanessa mentioned whether it’s true that Dame Esther ran through the garden naked, with Rebecca joking that it occurs most weekends, adding: “Nudity is her happy place.”
In April, Dame Esther made a plea ahead of the debate on the Assisted Dying Bill. The TV presenter has remained a vocal champion of the bill, which aims to “shorten our death” for those suffering from terminal illnesses.
“Every day is a wonderful miracle and we really are cherishing it…”
However, both supporters and opponents of the bill are now acknowledging that the legislation will not become law in the current session of Parliament after it stalled in the House of Lords.
During a pre-recorded appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain today, the veteran broadcaster said: “I will obviously keep battling, not on my own behalf but on behalf of all the future generations that deserve a proper, compassionate, humanitarian bill.
“Doctors used to ease people out of life; that’s what we need, we need the opportunity to ask for assistance. Not to shorten our lives but to shorten our deaths.”
