Dr Philippa Kaye, a regular on ITV's This Morning, has revealed she has undergone a hysterectomy, seven years after her battle with bowel cancer. The GP shared an emotional post on Instagram following the surgery, writing: 'Post op thoughts don’t always make practical, intellectual sense.'
The mother-of-three was diagnosed with stage two bowel cancer at age 39 and underwent six months of chemotherapy along with a 12-hour operation to remove malignant tissue. In October 2020, she announced live on air that she was cancer-free.
In her Instagram post, Dr Kaye reflected on the conflicting emotions surrounding the hysterectomy. She wrote: 'Intellectually I understand: “It was causing problems and pain... it wasn’t serving a purpose, was hurting and was a cancer risk.” Emotionally though... it was part of me, it housed my babies, cancer forced me to make this decision.' She also admitted to feeling 'less of a woman' without her womb and ovaries, though she acknowledged this was not true.
Dr Kaye had announced in January that she was preparing for surgery. In a video posted at the time, she said: 'When the day of the surgery arrives, the time for worry is over. No more questions or concerns. You put your big girl pants on. You trust in your team and you let go.'
Despite being given the all-clear, Dr Kaye still requires annual monitoring due to a genetic mutation that doubles her risk of bowel cancer. She explained: 'Even though my latest scans and colonoscopy were clear, I will continue to have to be assessed annually, because although my cancer was treated, my genes remain.'
