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Sophie Kinsella has revealed that her husband had to remind her of her incurable brain tumour diagnosis every day after surgery resulted in short term memory loss.
The Confessions of a Shopaholic author, 54, whose real name is Madeleine Sophie Wickham, broke the news in April that she received the devastating diagnosis of glioblastoma in 2022.
Sophie appeared on Lorraine on Thursday to promote her new book What Does It Feel Like – which is semi-autobiographical as it explores her battle with cancer.
During the interview, the mother-of-five made the heartbreaking admission that she lost her memory after undergoing a gruelling eight-hour surgery to remove the brain tumour.
‘He (her husband Henry) had to tell me more than once, over and over, this bad news “You’ve got cancer and it’s incurable”,’ she said. ‘I don’t know how he did it. I think that’s where he showed his greatest love for me.’
Sophie Kinsella revealed on Lorraine on Thursday that her husband had to remind her of her incurable brain diagnosis every day after surgery resulted in short term memory loss
‘He (her husband Henry) had to tell me more than once, over and over, this bad news “You’ve got cancer and it’s incurable”,’ she said. ‘I don’t know how he did it. I think that’s where he showed his greatest love for me’
Sophie first noticed something was wrong when she started tripping and losing her balance, before getting severe headaches. She later began tipping over in her chair and went to the doctors.
It was then doctors discovered an ‘aggressive and fast-growing tumour’ in her brain and ten days later, Sophie had an eight-hour operation that saw doctors remove the tumour.
However when she awoke from surgery, she had absolutely no memory of what had happened – not her diagnosis or that she had undergone such gruelling surgery.
‘It was absolutely bizarre,’ she told Lorraine Kelly. ‘That’s in the book as well, what it’s like to lose your memory. I lost my short term memory.
‘So I would be told what had happened and I’d be like “Oh yes I understand that now” and the next day I’d forgotten.’
Of her husband’s dedication, Sophie said: ‘Honestly I couldn’t have survived [without him] but it was hard for him. It’s really hard to tell someone bad news.
The Confessions of a Shopaholic author, 54, whose real name is Madeleine Sophie Wickham, broke the news in April that she received the devastating diagnosis of glioblastoma in 2022 (Pictured in 2019)
During the interview, the mother-of-five made the heartbreaking admission that she lost her memory after undergoing a gruelling eight-hour surgery to remove the brain tumour
‘You get upset yourself, you see their reaction and he had to tell me more than once, over and over, this bad news “You’ve got cancer and it’s incurable”.
‘I don’t know how he did it. I think that’s where he showed his greatest love for me, was doing that patiently and never once expecting me to remember, always understanding that my brain wasn’t the same.’
Following her surgery, Sophie couldn’t walk, think straight or sign her own name – so shared that she feels lucky that she is now able to write again.
‘It was an absolute mess,’ she said. ‘But even then I knew that what I was going through was so surreal and powerful and extreme that if I could, I would want to write about it one day. I would want to process it into a story.’
Speaking about how her five children have coped and what their day to day now looks like, Sophie said: ‘We have really focused in on the days that we have and not thinking happy ever after but thinking happy now, happy today.
‘We have this little ritual before we go to bed we go over the events of the day. I have to be honest this first began because I would forget the events of the day. But it’s actually a really good little bedtime routine.
‘You just say well we had this lovely meal, we saw this friend, we went for a walk and we saw that lovely view, or even just we got this lovely email. Just remember what happened, register it, and it makes you feel really good about the day.’
Sophie previously explained on social media that she was diagnosed in late 2022 but kept it a secret from the public for over a year so she could ‘make sure her five children were able to hear and process the news in privacy and adapt to their “new normal.”‘
‘To my dear readers and followers, I’ve wanted for a long time to share with you a health update and I’ve been waiting for the strength to do so,’ she wrote in a lengthy post shared to her X account.
Sophie first noticed something was wrong when she started tripping and losing her balance, before getting severe headaches. She later began tipping over in her chair and went to the doctors
Speaking about how her five children have coped and what their day to day now looks like, Sophie said: ‘We have really focused in on the days that we have and not thinking happy ever after but thinking happy now, happy today’
‘At the end of 2022, I was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of aggressive brain cancer.
‘I did not share this before because I wanted to make sure that my children were able to hear and process the news in privacy and adapt to our “new normal.”
‘At the moment all is stable and I am feeling generally very well, though I get very tired and my memory is even worse than it was before. I am so grateful to my family and close friends who have been an incredible support to me, and to the wonderful doctors and nurses who have treated me.’