Andrea McLean feared she would die after being diagnosed with a rare blood disease.
The 48-year-old presenter was diagnosed with medium vessel vasculitis – which causes blood vessels to inflame and can lead to organ failure – after undergoing a hysterectomy in 2016 and after having an affected area removed, she’s been given the all-clear so she’s determined to embrace her "second chance" at life and live it to the full.
She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "When you think life is coming to an end, you’ve never wanted to live so much.
"I stopped being afraid of saying what I wanted. And I stopped caring what people thought of me.
"I’ve been given a second chance and I’m not going to waste it. There’s a lesson for everyone there. Don’t doubt yourself. Don’t give up."
And the ‘Loose Women’ star admitted her diagnosis gave her a "wake-up" call to try and fulfill all her ambitions.
She added: "It made me re-evaluate things. I suppose you could say it was a wake-up call. I wrote down a list of ambitions that I hadn’t pushed myself towards through fear or lack of confidence.
"I needed to face up to the reality I held myself back subconsciously because I was scared.
"And with the threat of serious illness hanging over me, I now knew that I couldn’t hold myself back any longer.
"I didn’t want to look back on my life and wish I’d been brave enough to do something that was within my power to do, but a fear of failure held me back."
And Andrea – who married businessman Nick Feeney last December – is also determined to show women that life doesn’t have to end after going through the menopause.
She said: "The menopause has fired me up in every way. It’s time to forget about being embarrassed by the physical and mental fluctuations we cope with – we should be proud. During the menopause you might not be the same you, but a new you. And you are still incredible."
Andrea McLean feared death from rare disease
