Katie Price’s most terrifying health scare revisited: How she was given rare cancer diagnosis during pregnancy

Katie Price’s millions of fans love her for being an open book, but among the colourful chapters of her life are some incredibly dark ones, too. 

While most of the 47-year-old mum-of-five’s low points have been related to heartbreak and financial difficulties, she has also experienced some serious health scares, including being diagnosed with cancer. 

In 2002, when she was best known as glamour model Jordan, the then 24-year-old revealed that she had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer while pregnant with her son Harvey. 

The diagnosis came just weeks after being told Harvey was incurably blind and suffering from a growth defect when he was just 11 weeks old. 

Katie was told that she had leiomyosarcoma or LMS, which attacks the smooth muscle cells found in most parts of the body. It’s a rare cancer, and in its advanced stages, there is only a 50-50 chance of survival.

She was four months pregnant when a beautician noticed a small lump on the index finger of her left hand while giving her a manicure. 

Unable to see her regular GP as they were on holiday, she saw an alternative medic who assured her it was nothing to worry about. 

However, she noticed the lump kept increasing in size, prompting her to seek another opinion. 

 

 

At the time, she said: ‘I kept a close eye on this lump and over the months it was getting bigger and bigger. 

‘I was starting to get worried so I went back to the surgery on two more occasions but never managed to see my regular GP. Each time I was told the same thing, “It’s nothing to worry about but keep an eye on it”.

‘When it still continued to grow I returned for a fourth time and thankfully was able to see my own GP. He took one look at the lump and immediately expressed concern.’

She was referred to a specialist in Hove, East Sussex, but she had to wait until she had given birth before tests could be carried out. 

Shortly after giving birth to Harvey, a biopsy was performed at Nuffield Hospital in Brighton. 

‘From that point on I thought nothing more about it. The lump was gone and so, I hoped, was the problem,’ she said.

But when she was asked to return to the hospital to see the consultant a few weeks later, her heart dropped.

Doctors believe the pregnancy may have accelerated the signs of the cancer, which may otherwise have lain dormant in her body. 

‘The doctor sat me down immediately. I could tell from his face that something wasn’t right,’ she said. 

‘Then he came right out with it. He said, “I’ve got bad news, it’s cancer”.

‘I almost laughed but just sat staring at him as he went into a more detailed explanation of what they’d found.

‘When he stopped I asked if the cancer could have been the cause of Harvey’s blindness. He said absolutely not.’

Doctors told her it was ‘almost certain’ another lump will return and she will need further treatment in the future.

‘I just sat there nodding, not taking it in at all,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t feel anything. Couldn’t think anything. Couldn’t even cry.’

Appearing on Katherine Ryan’s podcast, What’s My Age Again, earlier in the summer, Katie recalled the terrifying experience. 

She said: ‘It was in my hand, they took it out, it was called leiomyosarcoma. Apparently I got that from being pregnant, the stress of it.’

She recalled informing her mother about her diagnosis in a typically blunt way. 

Katie told Katherine: ‘So when I phoned my mum, I just remember going: “Mum, just to let you know, they found cancer”. 

‘I was so flippant like that because so much had already happened to me by then.’

She explained: ‘It was just a, “Yeah, this has happened now”, “Yeah, that’s happened now”. I think about it and then I’m just like, oh, well, you just got to get on with it.’

Thankfully for Katie, her loved ones and her fans, she has never mentioned LMS returning. 

According to Sarcoma UK, there are roughly 525 cases of LMS diagnosed each year. 

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