‘I Want to Conquer Myself, Not Jack P Shepherd’- Viewers Tearfully Moved by Trisha Goddard’s Heartbreaking Story. One Viewer Cries: ‘She Didn’t Come to CBB alone, she also brought her Cancer.’

Talk show host Trisha Goddard has opened up on how she coped in the Big Brother house while living with her incurable cancer condition. The TV star, 67, was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer in 2023 after previously beating the devastating disease.

But ahead of joining this year’s line-up of celebrities entering the infamous house, bosses had a duty of care and had to make sure she was fit and well enough to take part in the series.

Speaking for the first time since her exit, she explained the process she underwent before stepping into the iconic household.

She explained that she had been given a round of chemotherapy just 24 hours before joining the show and flew in from her home in Conneticut, America.

She said: “I went to the infusion centre on April 1. I call it my spa room. I had a soupcon of chemo and targeted hormone therapy, one little bag after the other. I have a port catheter [in her chest] and I get plugged in.”

Trisha Goddard explains how she managed her cancer treatment while in CBB(Image: ITV)

Having to be extra cautious against picking up germs while on her way to the UK, she added that she took disinfectant wipes for the “seats, tables, armrest and loo.”

Speaking to the MailOnline, she continued: “My oncologist is brilliant, a rock star, and so sweet. He said, ‘I’m going to help you do this because your message [of hope] is so great’.” ITV bosses made sure that her stay in CBB was a relaxed and comfortable one and was treated to a number of luxuries including her own bedroom suite.

On realising the extent to which production staff were prioritising her needs, she told the publication: “I thought I was going to get – ooh – a bed with a curtain but, amazingly, they decided I should have my own bedroom, loo and bathroom which I genuinely wasn’t expecting.”

She added: “I was blown away by that. And they gave me my own low-fat food in a little fridge. I missed out on not being in the main bedroom – I got a bit of FOMO.”

When it came to maintaining the same level of treatment she would receive in the comfort of her own home, She went on to explain that she had to take a powder to help with her bowel movements, as constipation is a side effect of chemotherapy.

She was also prescribed calcium and a stimulant called Ritalin, which is reportedly prescribed for ADHD. Explaining the reason behind taking the medication, she continued: “It stops exhaustion. This is what upsets me: there are so many people with cancer, so many suffering so much they can’t function, but side-effects can be treated.”

She went on to say: “[For nausea] I do a super mild wibbly-wobbly workout with weights that helps my balance. The hospital doesn’t even need to give me anti-nausea meds.”

While most admired her bravery for entering the TV show while battling her condition, some took to social media to question why she would leave her family to take part in a reality TV show.

“I had messages like, ‘You should be spending your dying days with your family, not in the Big Brother House’, and the assumption is that the cancer has spread all over your body: liver, kidney; everywhere,” she said.

Hitting back at the criticism she faced from a few viewers, she explained: “But for a hell of a lot of people with metastatic cancer – me included – it’s not the case. It’s in my bone; specifically my right hip bone. And people have lived with cancer like this for five, ten even 20 years. You can’t be so scared of dying you become afraid of living.”