BOLTON broadcaster Victoria Derbyshire has revealed she is wearing a wig — as she loses her hair following her treatment for breast cancer.
Victoria, who grew up in Turton and was born in Ramsbottom, made the admission in the latest video diary released chronicling her illness since she was diagnosed in July.
The video, which covers November and December, was published yesterday, and she is set to return to our screens to present her self-titled BBC news show this morning.
On a diary entry filmed on December 1, Victoria was visibly emotional as she spoke of her hair loss during her chemotherapy, taking off her wig and revealing her depleted hair.
She said: "I am at the stage where I am feeling a little dispirited, and one of the things I am finding difficult to come to terms with is losing my hair.
"I would say I have lost about 30 to 50 per cent of my hair. I am finding this hard."
Victoria, aged 47, said she was prepared for the hair loss, but that she found it "disconcerting".
In the video she is seen wearing a cold cap, which is designed to minimise hair loss during treatment.
However Victoria, who underwent a mastectomy in September, said she has become more used to wearing a wig, saying she welcomes the practicality of it.
In a diary entry on Christmas Eve, she said: "I have got used to wearing a wig, which is something I never thought I would be able to say.
"A few weeks ago, the idea of wearing a wig horrified me. It represented stress, it represented something peculiar and not me.
"Now I can put it on in five minutes in the morning. We went to a friend's Christmas party and my youngest son whispered to me: 'Mummy, no one would have known you are wearing a wig'.
"Maybe they did know and were just too polite to say anything, but the point is it just lets me crack on and get on with things, which is absolutely great."
She has been wearing the wig while presenting her show for the past month, but has now decided to make it public.
Victoria said: "When I started wearing a wig a few weeks ago I didn't tell anyone at work I was wearing one, because I needed a little time to adjust to it myself.
"I can confirm I'm now fully adjusted to it and so feel comfortable in being totally open about it."
She expects to suffer more hair loss as she continues with three chemotherapy sessions and a series of radiotherapy sessions before her treatment finishes in the spring.
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