Fearne Cotton has opened up about discovering two tumours in her jaw, describing the experience as a “wake-up call” that forced her to reassess her life.
The broadcaster and podcaster, 41, said she had lived with a small lump on her face for some time before eventually seeking medical advice after noticing changes.
“I’d had this little lump on my face for maybe two years,” she said. “And I used to sort of sit there and fiddle with it when I was like reading to the kids at night.”
Speaking on podcast Great Company with Jamie Laing, Cotton recalled the moment she was told the growth was linked to her parotid gland — a salivary gland located near the jaw — and that surgery would be required.
“I had this scan. The woman very very casually kind of went, ‘Yep, you’ve got um a tumour on your uh parotid gland, which is your saliva gland,’” she said.
“And I was like, ‘What? Weird. This feels like a bit of a wake-up call’.”
Doctors later confirmed the tumours were benign, but due to their position close to a facial nerve, they needed to be removed.
Reflecting on the experience, Cotton told former Made In Chelsea star Laing that it marked an immediate turning point.
“It was quite immediate that I thought that this feels like a bit of a wakeup call,” she said. “And then luckily, I had a biopsy on it and it was benign.
“So, it was just a case of removing it. But I knew I had to sort of change things and not get to that point of absolute burnout, constantly.”
Only later did she begin to consider what might have contributed to the condition.
“I think Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s got stats in one of his books about sort of 95 per cent of physical ailments are caused by stress,” she said, suggesting she believes prolonged periods of stress may have played a role, though there is no clear medical evidence directly linking stress to such tumours.
The former Radio 1 DJ said the ordeal ultimately made her realise “things had to change”, prompting her to slow down and reassess her priorities.
She has since spoken more openly about the importance of balance, both through her Happy Place podcast and in interviews, often encouraging others to check in with their wellbeing.
Cotton also urged people not to ignore unusual symptoms, saying she wished she had acted sooner after first noticing the lump.
While she experienced some numbness following the surgery, she said she is now recovering well and feels grateful for the care she received, adding that she is determined not to return to the level of burnout she believes contributed to the scare.
