Jade Goody has cervical cancer
LONDON (Reuters) - “Celebrity Big Brother” star Jade Goody has been diagnosed with cervical cancer, her spokesman said on Tuesday.
Goody has been taking part in India’s version of the reality TV show, but is to leave the show and fly home to London to undergo surgery after being told of the diagnosis.
“Jade was really looking forward to her time in the house, but her health is the most important thing,” her spokesman told Reuters. “She is going to come home immediately for treatment.”
The Indian reality show — “Bigg Boss” — is being hosted by Goody’s TV adversary on last year’s “Celebrity Big Brother” — Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty.
Goody, 27, was at the centre of a racism row on “Celebrity Big Brother”, won by Shetty after allegations she had been racially abused by Goody and other housemates.
Goody’s treatment of Shetty on the programme generated thousands of complaints, dominated headlines and prompted a sponsor of the show to pull out.
Shetty was called a “dog” on the show and some housemates refused to learn her name, referring to her as “the Indian” and “Poppadom”, but Shetty played down the allegations that she had been the victim of racial abuse.
Goody later apologised, saying she never meant to be racist.
Most cases of cervical cancer are caused by the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus: it is the second most common type of cancer in women.
The disease kills about 800 women each year in England and up to 300,000 globally, mostly in developing countries.
Girls aged 12 to 13 in Britain are to be offered vaccination at school over the next six months against the virus.
(Reporting by John Joseph; Editing by Steve Addison)
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