Carol McGiffin says her relationship with her fiancé Mark Cassidy has been strengthened by her cancer battle.
The former ‘Loose Women’ panellist was diagnosed with breast cancer last April and has undergone a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy to fight the potentially fatal disease.
Carol, 54, insists Mark has been her rock throughout the ordeal.
When asked if her illness has made the pair even stronger as a couple, she said: "Absolutely. People say if you get through a death, you know it’s going to be all right. This is as testing. I knew he’d be fine. I never thought he’d leave me. I’ve got quite good self-esteem. It’s been stripped away a little bit but I never doubted him at all."
Carol was worried how Mark would react when she had to shave her hair off but he offered to shore her locks for her and has done everything he can to ensure she isn’t self-concious about it.
Speaking to the new issue of Bella magazine, she said: "I thought it was really great that he shaved my hair for me without batting an eyelid. I’ve shown people pictures of me with no hair and they’ve just burst into tears."
Revealing how she felt when she first saw herself with no hair, Carol added: "Seeing somebody else in the mirror is so weird. I thought, ‘That’s not a good look!’ It’s totally different. You don’t recognise yourself. Mark’s constantly stroking my head. He looks in it, like he’s looking for fleas like monkeys do! I’m always asking if there are any grey hairs in there. He says no but I know he’s lying. He likes touching my hair, and he’ll kiss my head."
Read Carol’s interview in full in Bella magazine, out Tuesday 24 February.
Carol McGiffin’s relationship strengthened by cancer
