Jennifer Saunders, famous for her role as Edina in the hit show Absolutely Fabulous, has spoken to The Times Magazine about her experience with cancer.
When asked if she believed that some people wear the disease as a badge she said, “For ever – and I’ll give you why.”
“Because it is the job you don’t have to work for. You suddenly get so much attention, and if you’re not used to that, I bet it can sway you a little bit.”
“I’m used to it. My job gives me the attention I would otherwise crave.”
“They must be so pissed off when their hair grows back. And you think, ‘Oh, come on, cancer is so common now’.”
Jennifer and her co-star Joanna Luley as Patsy and Edina in Absolutely Fabulous
Saunders was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 but kept it a secret until she was photographed at a party minus her wig.
The 55-year old was given the all-clear in 2010 but said other survivors criticised her for suggesting she was “free” from the disease.
“People were writing, ‘How dare you say that! You’re never free of cancer! And I thought, ‘No, actually I am free of cancer now.’ “
The mother of three, who underwent both chemotherapy and radiation treatment, said she never worried about dying from the cancer because “they told me I wasn’t going to.”
