Entertainment

Agony aunt Deidre Sanders diagnosed with breast cancer after screening ‘error’

Published

3 years ago

September 27, 2022

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Agony aunt Deidre Sanders has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Sanders, 77, said her diagnosis came after an “error” meant she was not invited for a mammogram when she turned 70.

Speaking to The Sun, she said she began “feeling achy” last summer and realised she had a backache that “seemed to be spreading into my right breast”.

After setting up an appointment at the breast clinic at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge, Sanders was put on the NHS two-week cancer pathway, a referral process for anyone suspected of having cancer.

After a mammogram and an ultrasound scan, a biopsy revealed malignant cells.

Sanders, who also spoke about her diagnoses on This Morning on Tuesday, said she is scheduled for surgery to remove the carcinoma on Saturday.

She told the paper that she had not had a screening for about 10 years, saying she was “among a cohort of several thousand women who, by error, did not get invited for a mammogram when they turned 70”.

The NHS automatically invites women for their first breast screening between the ages of 50 and 53. Women are then invited every 3 years until they turn 71.

Sanders said she had been invited for a screening “a couple of years later”, but had not taken up the offer, saying: “By then I reckoned I must be too old to need it any more as the NHS stops inviting you for a screening after that age. Hah!”

Her cancer has been classified as “high-grade”, which means it has the potential to spread aggressively if not discovered early.

Although women over 71 can request a scan, no routine appointments will be automatically made. This is despite Cancer Research UK saying that every year, around a quarter of new breast cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over.

Sanders said she is now be requesting screenings every three years and is urging women over the age of 70 to do the same. She is also encouraging women under that age bracket to have mammograms when they receive their invitations.

Sanders spent 40 years as The Sun’s agony aunt, providing a shoulder to cry on for readers who would approach her problem page with issues ranging from serious personal difficulties, relationship or sexual problems and family dilemmas.

Sanders retired from her newspaper role in December 2020.

She has been an agony aunt on ITV’s This Morning with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield since 2016. She has also published several books.

You must be registered with a GP surgery to be invited for breast screening.

The NHS website says that if you are a trans man, trans woman or are non-binary you may be invited automatically, or you may need to talk to your GP surgery or call the local breast screening service to ask for an appointment.

Entertainment

Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault

Published

16 mins ago

April 4, 2025

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Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.

The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.

The charges relate to four women.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.

Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.

He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.

The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.

Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.

The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.

He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”

Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.

“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”

Entertainment

Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to ‘dear friend’ Val Kilmer

Published

24 hours ago

April 3, 2025

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Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to 'dear friend' Val Kilmer

Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.

Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.

Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.

His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.

“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.

“I wish you well on the next journey.”

The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.

Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.

Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.

He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.

Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.

He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.

In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.

The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.

Entertainment

Bruce Springsteen: The Boss to release seven ‘lost’ albums

Published

1 day ago

April 3, 2025

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Bruce Springsteen: The Boss to release seven 'lost' albums

Bruce Springsteen is to release seven albums of mostly unheard material this summer.

The US singer said the songs, written and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018, were being made public after he began completing “everything I had in my vault” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a short video posted on Instagram, Springsteen said the albums were “records that were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released”.

The 83-song collection is being released in a box set called Tracks II: The Lost Albums and goes on sale on 27 June.

Some 74 of the tracks have never been heard before.

Springsteen first teased the release on Wednesday morning with a short social media video accompanied by text which said: “What was lost has been found”.

Tracks II is the follow-up to the star’s first Tracks volume, a four-CD collection of 66 unreleased songs, released in 1998.

The New Jersey-born rocker, nicknamed The Boss, last released a studio album in 2022.

Only the Strong Survive was a collection of covers, including songs by Motown and soul artists, such as the Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, Frankie Wilson and Jimmy Ruffin.

The late soul legend Sam Moore, who died in January and was a frequent Springsteen collaborator, sang on two of the tracks.

Springsteen is coming to the UK in May to launch a two-month tour of Europe with his E Street Band.

The shows will include performances at the Co-op Live in Manchester and Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.

The singer-songwriter has sold more than 140 million records since his debut on the music scene in 1973, according to his website.