Sarah Beeny: what did TV host say about breast cancer diagnosis, how old is she, who is husband Graham Swift?

TV presenter Sarah Beeny has revealed she has been diagnosed with breast cancer aged 50 - 40 years after her mother died from the illness.

The broadcaster and property expert said she is undergoing treatment and will have surgery and undergo radiotherapy in the new year.

In an emotional message, she revealed her mum Ann had died of breast cancer when she was just 10 years old, and said: “I’ve waited 40 years to hear those words.”

Despite her diagnosis, Sarah said she will continue to work and is focused on a new Channel 4 series and book she has planned for later in the year.

Who is Sarah Beeny? 

Sarah, 50, is best known for her roles in presenting UK property shows such as Property Ladder, Property Snakes and Ladders, and Help! My House is Falling Down.

She has also written regular columns for national newspapers and magazines, as well as several books such as Sarah Beeny’s Price the Job, and Property Ladder: How to make Pounds from Property.

In 2018, she launched her podcast Round the Houses with Sarah Beeny, where the rich and famous allowed her into their homes.

Born in Reading, Berkshire, Sarah began studying real estate from the age of 18, and began her own property-developing business with her brother without any formal training.

Who is her husband Graham Swift?

Sarah met her husband Graham Swift when she was 18, and together the couple have four sons.

He also worked with her and her brother on their property development business.

The couple have also featured on several TV shows together, renovating old houses.

Sarah bought Rise Hall, near Hull, for £435,000, after Graham fell in love with the decaying mansion.

The couple spent more than a decade renovating the 97-room Grade II-listed pile, which formed a 2010 TV series, before eventually selling it

At the time, Sarah said: “It’s been an amazing journey and it took a lot of energy but we love the house and we are leaving with a lot of magical memories.”

More recently the pair appeared on Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country on Channel 4, where the couple turned a semi-derelict Somerset dairy farm into a modern, carbon-neutral stately home.

What did Sarah Beeny say about her breast cancer diagnosis? 

He mother, Ann, died of breast cancer when she was just 10 years old, and Ms Beeny gave an emotional message upon learning her diagnosis.

She said: “I’ve waited 40 years to hear those words. I knew I was going to hear it one day.”

She told the Daily Telegraph that she had “a little bit of a breakdown after receiving the news in the consultation room”.

A few days after starting chemotherapy, she took to Instagram to show the haircut styled by her sons.

On her hair, Ms Beeny said: “I was really, really sad before. I think because losing your hair is so real: before that, you can sort of pretend it’s not happening”.

She added: “To be honest, I wouldn’t recommend getting four teenage boys to cut off your hair.

“Graham was trying to cut it nicely, but the boys – well, they’re not going to be famous hairdressers.

“They said I looked like Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones – I mean, she’s beautiful so I was sort of flattered, but my hair is now in some places about a centimetre long and in some places it’s an inch long.”

On the day she went to the doctor, Ms Beeny knew she was going to be told she had cancer.

She said: “I think I’m impatient because it might run out; you might not have any more time”.

“Even though we’d all got masks on, you can look at people’s eyes. And I thought: ‘Oh, I know what those eyes are saying.’

“Then I turned around and there was this lovely lady there who was a breast cancer support nurse, sitting on the chair next to me.

“I looked at her and thought: ‘Well, you’re not here because you’re bored or looking for a nice, cool room to sit in.’

“I just said: ‘Look, I’ve got cancer, haven’t I?’ And they just said: ‘Yes.’”

Ms Beeny’s condition was picked up after she found a lump in her breast and sought a doctor’s advice. Although an initial mammogram did not flag anything as unusual, a biopsy confirmed it was cancer.

However, she has been reassured the cancer has not spread, and that “there is an 80% of a cure”.

What are the symptoms of breast cancer? 

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK, and most women diagnosed with it are over the age of 50.

Around 1 in 8 women are diagnosed, and there s a good chance of recovery if it’s detected early.

According to the NHS website symptoms of breast cancer include:

• a change in the size or shape of one or both breasts
• discharge from either of your nipples, which may be streaked with blood
• a lump or swelling in either of your armpits
• dimpling on the skin of your breasts
• a rash on or around your nipple
• a change in the appearance of your nipple, such as becoming sunken into your breast

Breast pain is not usually a symptom of breast cancer.