SUE Perkins has revealed her benign brain tumour diagnosis in 2015 put her in a “very, very dark place”.
The former Bake Off host, 51, discovered the mass on her pituitary gland after being screened as part of the show The Supersizers – a food programme in which she and Giles Coren explore foods from different eras.
Speaking to The Mirror about the impact the diagnosis had on her, she said: “I have been through a very, very dark time since the tumour started to make its presence felt.”
The pituitary gland sits just behind the eyes and releases hormones into the bloodstream.
According to Cancer Research UK, tumours in this area are usually slow growing and benign.
They are separated into two categories, those which produce hormones and those which don’t.
It is often necessary to remove the tumours to prevent them impacting on the optic nerve and a patient’s eyesight, as well as to maintain the regular production of hormones.
Sue said of her condition: “Sometimes it screws up my hormones. I have various tests now to make sure the side effects aren’t too onerous.”
Devastatingly, the tumour might have affected her ability to have children.
She continued: “I don’t know if I would have gone on to have children. But as soon as someone says you can’t have something, you want it more than anything.
Last month Sue and her ex-partner Anna Richardson called time on their seven-year relationship.
A source explained: “The split is as amicable as these things can ever be. After so long together it wasn’t an easy decision to make and they both did so with heavy hearts.
“But Sue and Anna are determined to remain friends and keep in touch.
“Nobody else is involved and now the pair are throwing themselves into work.”
