Springwatch presenter Michaela Strachan, 59, has revealed she feared the worst and underwent cancer tests after eagle-eyed viewers spotted a “lump” on her throat.
Michaela, speaking this week on Kaye Adams’ How to be 60 podcast, shared that the scare happened in 2019, when she was filming the series alongside Chris Packham in Scotland.
The presenter had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014. She underwent a double mastectomy as part of her treatment and was given the all-clear. However, just five years later, Michaela was back in hospital for tests.
Michaela Strachan’s breast cancer diagnosis
In 2014, Michaela was diagnosed with breast cancer. The diagnosis came after a routine mammogram.
The diagnosis came as a shock to the presenter, as she described in a candid interview with the Mail on Sunday: “The tears started to roll as my doctor tried to tell me what would happen next, but I only took in every fifth word or so. The one word that registered was cancer.
“I couldn’t get my head around the fact that on Monday morning I’d been apparently healthy, by Tuesday I had cancer, and by Wednesday I was talking about a double mastectomy.”
Michaela underwent a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. It was a difficult ordeal, but one that she believes made her stronger.
“My breasts have never been a big part of my personality – they have always been rather average 34Bs. I didn’t think I felt too emotional about losing them. But knowing I would in the next few days, I found myself wearing tight tops and celebrating them. As Joni Mitchell sang: ‘Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.’”
‘It strengthened me’
She also told Woman & Home in 2022: “Going through breast cancer strengthened me. It has given me more resilience and made me appreciate my life more because I realise that something could have ended it early, and that’s a shock.”
She also admitted that sometimes she forgets about her diagnosis. “I had a double mastectomy and have slightly funny-looking boobs, but other than that, that’s it. I was incredibly lucky.”
Remarkably, Michaela chooses not to live in fear of her cancer returning. “I don’t worry about that because what’s the point? What I understand is that the chances of mine coming back are as likely as someone that’s never had it.”
‘Could it be cancer?’
However, speaking earlier this week, Michaela revealed that she secretly underwent tests back in 2019, after fearing that her cancer had returned.
She told Kaye Adams on her How to be 60 podcast: “I did have a second scare, which was extraordinary, because I was doing Springwatch and I had a few people after the show message me and say: ‘Did you know you’ve got a lump on your throat?’
“I was like: ‘Have I?’ I was watching the show back in bed and I thought, oh my god, I do – I’ve got a lump.” Michaela added: “It was like an Adam’s apple at the side of my throat that was moving up and down as I spoke.”
She was in the middle of filming Springwatch in the Cairngorms in Scotland at the time, and asked production if she could see a doctor.
Michaela continued: “They managed to get a doctor in and I explained that I’d had breast cancer. They said: ‘With that history, we need to get you seen.'”
She then underwent an urgent blood test at a local hospital and a weekend appointment with a throat cancer specialist in Harley Street.
Speaking about her appointment with the specialist, Michaela shared: “‘I said: ‘Give me the worst case scenario,’ and he said: ‘I don’t want to do that.’ I said: ‘Well, I’m asking you. Could it be cancer?’
“He said: ‘It could be, but it would be highly unlikely. I’ve never heard of secondary breast cancer in your throat. It could be throat cancer – it could be completely separate.’ I said: ‘Then what?’ He said: ‘Then we’d remove it.'”
Michaela shared that she then asked what the “best case scenario” was. The doctor informed her that it could just be a benign cyst. “‘Might you have to remove it?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘If you remove it, could it affect my vocal cords?’ ‘Yes.’ I’m thinking, oh great, none of this is sounding good. None of it. Then I go back to do Springwatch on the Monday. So that was horrible, really horrible.”
View this post on Instagram
Relief over her diagnosis and looking to the future
Fortunately, tests revealed the lump was a benign cyst. Doctors were able to drain without any complications.
Now approaching her 60th birthday in April, Michaela said the experience of surviving cancer has changed her perspective on life: “I think when you’ve had the big C scare, it does make you feel like every year’s a bonus. I think, great, let’s just make the most of it because who knows what’s going to happen next.”
Read more: Chris Packham on ‘friendship’ with Michaela Strachan: ‘We don’t hang out’
Catch Michaela on Sunday Brunch this weekend (February 8) at 10am on Channel 4.
Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think of our story.