Victoria Derbyshire has been using a wig after losing her hair during her chemotherapy sessions for breast cancer.
The 46-year-old journalist, who was diagnosed with the disease last July, has admitted she’s struggling to deal with her thinning mane and has been reliant on fake locks during her presenting gigs over the past month in a bid to hide it.
Speaking in a video diary, recorded six days after her second round of treatment last month, the talented presenter slipped off her brunette wig to reveal her thin tresses, before turning to the camera and saying: "I’m finding this hard."
She added: "One of the things that I’m finding difficult to come to terms with is losing my hair.
"I would say I have lost about 30-50 per cent of it."
The thought of wearing a wig previously "horrified" Victoria and she believes losing her hair affected her more than undergoing a mastectomy to remove her breast.
But she has since come to terms with it and now feels "comfortable" wearing the locks over top of her real hair.
She 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. The point is it lets me crack on and get on with things – which is absolutely great."
The occasional ‘Newsnight’ presenter – who underwent cold capping twice in a bid to prevent her hair from falling out – has three chemotherapy sessions and a series of radiotherapy left before her treatment ends in the spring.
The mother-of-two – who is planning to share her experience through her video diaries – suspects she’ll lose even more of her hair and has also started to lose parts of her eyebrows.
Victoria Derbyshire using wig after cancer hair loss
