A radio star has shown the public her body showing the unseen side effects of chemotherapy. The BBC Radio 1 DJ showed that her body had been 'ravaged' by the cancer.
Adele Roberts, 43, told fans that the treatment had made it look like her skin had been ‘burned’. She was diagnosed with bowel cancer in October and says the medication has massively affected her skin, even causing her to have ‘holes’ all over her face during her first round of chemo.
The former I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star courageously posted images of her skin on Instagram, admitting that she had always struggled with feeling embarrassed about having acne. Adele also revealed that shame about her skin made her time in the jungle on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity difficult.
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She was given permission to wear makeup during the show and would ‘hide’ away early in the morning to apply it, to make sure her campmates would not see her natural skin, reports the Mirror.
She wrote: “I’ve always been embarrassed about my skin. I’ve struggled with it for most of my life. I’ll never forget when it first started to breakout and a lady asking me if I’d been in an accident. I was mortified…I think I’ve carried that shame with me for too long.
“Everything I’m going through at the moment has taught me it’s good to share. I’m not the only one. I’m very lucky to be on this treatment but it’s ravaged my skin a lot.” She continued: “I’ve shared what it’s done to my hands and feet but I was too ashamed to show you my face.
“I’ve been thinking a lot recently and I’ve realised that it’s good to share as much as I can. What if someone else is suffering too and they think they’re alone. You’re not.”
She went on to thank her partner Kate Holderness for her help during treatment. “Kate’s helped me so much and has helped me cover my scars with makeup,” she explained, "We use a foundation by Kat Von D which has been formulated to cover up face tattoos.
"This is the first step to my liberation I guess. I hope you don’t mind me sharing but I hope it helps at least one person. The first round of my chemotherapy was a bit strong and ended up with me looking like I’d been burned. I had holes all over my face.
“One day I’ll show you but I think what I’m sharing today is a big enough step for me.” Adele has continuously documented her recovery on social media and is finishing her chemotherapy medication next Monday.
“I don’t want to be ashamed anymore. I’m alive and I’m lucky to be on this treatment. My skin is also healing and looking SO MUCH BETTER than the start. Plus I’m nearly there now! Monday can’t come soon enough xx”
She went on to reveal the lengths she went to to cover up her skin when appearing on I’m A Celebrity in 2019. Adele said: “Ps. When I was in the jungle I used to get up really early to hide in the medicine hut so I could cover up my acne scars.
“This was totally in the rules by the way, I had permission to take makeup for my acne but I was too ashamed to let my camp mates see me with no makeup on. It even made showering and some of the tasks harder. I used to freak out if my face got wet. I feel stupid now but I just want you to know how silly I’ve been.” Adele told her followers on Instagram stories that she will have a scan in six weeks, which she hopes will reveal that she is cancer-free.
