Emmerdale star Tony Audenshaw has opened up the tragic loss of his late wife and her cancer battle.
Tony, who has played Bob Hope on the ITV soap for more than 20 years, now wants to raise awareness about pancreatic cancer after his wife Ruth's cancer battle.
Appearing on This Morning with Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield, Tony advised people on how they can spot the signs early on. The actor recalled how she learned she had cancer and what they did when they heard it had spread to other parts of her body.
Read more: Emmerdale finally addresses Cain Dingle's controversial grooming storyline
Tony said: "She ran, she cycled and it was part of that which masked the symptoms. She did a lot of running and it could have been dehydration but other than that she was feeling a bit tired, but our daughter had just gone travelling so it could have had something to do with that.
"But she went to the doctors, this dark urine happened for a few days and they thought it might be a urine infection. They took tests and it wasn’t, by this time she’d gone yellow herself and her poo had gone a different colour.
"I can’t believe I’m talking about Ruth’s poo. She’d be mortified in front of you Phillip obviously. She went back to the doctors and she’d already Googled it could be pancreatic cancer and she had anxiety about it being cancer.
"The doctor said it could be up to two weeks before she could get a scan. We knew because she’d read with pancreatic cancer, over half the people die within three months of diagnosis.
"It’s been the case since the seventies, it’s really been left behind in regard to funding. So she checked herself in, Halloween 2015 at the local hospital and had a scan and then it unfolded it was pancreatic cancer."
Tony explained doctors did investigations and put in a stent to help stop jaundice before they confirmed it was cancer. The Emmerdale star explained it was a "really grim outlook at the start" but Ruth refused to give up.
Ruth had an operation and went through rounds of chemotherapy, but sadly the cancer spread. Tony added: "It was devastating because it was about two months after the operation we learned it had spread already."
After finding out about the extent of her cancer, the couple decided they would live like retired folk. Ruth would go out and meet up with friends, and still enjoy her passion for cycling.
The actor will be raising money for Pancreatic Cancer UK by cycling around London in honour of his late wife Ruth. Tony’s wife died in 2017 leaving behind their son George and daughter Emily.
In her honour, Tony now wants to raise as much awareness as possible about pancreatic cancer. He is taken on an epic challenge and cycling around London to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer UK.
This Morning airs weekdays on ITV at 10am and Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV from 7.30pm.
