GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips announced her Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis today, aged just 62, after receiving the news last year.
She had insisted on keeping her illness a secret from her sons, Nat, 24, and Mackenzie, 21, who she shares with her husband, This Morning editor Martin Frizell.
But now, with news of her health battle being made public, Fiona agreed that her boys had to be told despite her initial reluctance.
She told The Mirror: “I just didn’t want to make a big thing out of it where we all sit down as a family and announce we’ve got something to tell them.
“And I was worried they might be embarrassed in front of their friends or treat me in a different way. And it’s not like I’m doing anything out of character.”
Fiona was also concerned as Alzheimer’s runs in her family. She tragically lost both her parents to the cruel disease and her grandparents and uncle also battled it.
Before telling her children about her own diagnosis, the journalist wanted a blood test to check whether her boys may have inherited the gene.
Martin continued to the publication: “We wanted to know in case we needed to prepare the boys to make some difficult decisions later in life.
“When the results came back as negative it was a huge moment – such an enormous sense of relief. There’s no Alzheimer’s on my side of the family and thank goodness it seems the boys have not inherited from Fiona’s side of the family.”
Before her diagnosis last year, the breakfast TV presenter put the brain fog and anxiety she had been experiencing down to menopause.
Fiona sought medical help and was put on HRT. However, when her symptoms persisted, she underwent months of tests and a lumbar puncture which eventually determined that she had the dreaded disease.
Nevertheless, she remains optimistic after being accepted onto a trial for a revolutionary new drug.
It is hoped that the new treatment could slow the disease’s progress, but it is still too soon to determine whether it works.
For all the latest Entertainment News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
