Bestselling author Sophie Kinsella, 54 – best known for her Confessions of a Shopaholic series - has revealed she is undergoing treatment for an ‘aggressive’ form of cancer.
The writer, whose real name is Madeleine Sophie Wickham, shared a ‘health update’ with her fans on Twitter and social media, writing: “To my dear readers and followers. I’ve wanted for a long time to share with you a health update and I’ve been waiting for the strength to do so.”
Her post was accompanied by a lengthy statement that said: "At the end of 2022, I was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of aggressive brain cancer.
"I did not share this before because I wanted to make sure that my children were able to hear and process the news in privacy and adapt to our 'new normal'."
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Wickham said she had been undergoing 'ongoing' treatment, thanking the 'excellent' team at University College Hospital in London for their care, which has included 'successful surgery' and subsequent radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
She continued: "At the moment all is stable and I am feeling generally very well, though I get very tired and my memory is even worse than it was before,' she wrote.
"I am so grateful to my family and close friends who have been an incredible support to me, and to the wonderful doctors and nurses who have treated me.
"I am also so grateful to my readers for your constant support. The wonderful response to The Burnout has really buoyed me up, during a difficult time.'
She added: "To everyone who is suffering from cancer in any form, I send love and best wishes, as well as to those who support them.
"It can feel very lonely and scary to have a tough diagnosis, and the support and care of those around you means more than words can say."
Commenting on Wickham's Instagram post, actor Isla Fisher - who played protagonist Rebecca Bloomwood in the 2009 film adaptation of Confessions of a Shopaholic - was among the first people to share their best wishes, commenting: "Sending you so much love and healing energy."
Author Jojo Moyes also told her: "Love you."
Jess Hardiman