AUSTRALIAS 7 NEWS PRESENTER JABBED UP ANOUNCERS SHE HAS CANCER

Video Transcript:

I have some personal news this morning. It's not great news, not a panda story to finish the bulletin. I have been diagnosed with cancer. That's a shock to say and hard to say, but it's a really good kind. It's called chronic myloid leukemia. So I can be treated with a daily tablet. If I take care of myself, I will be completely absolutely fine. So I feel very, very lucky. I wanted to share this with you for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because everyone at home and here has been here for all the wonderful times for the engagements and the weddings and the babies for all of us. So it felt right to share this with you too. And I know many of you have been in similar situations or much, much worse and come out the other side of it stronger and more resilient. That's exactly what I plan to do. I thought I could keep it together. I have some personal news this morning. It's not great news, not a panda story to finish the bulletin. I have been diagnosed with cancer. That's a shock to say and hard to say, but it's a really good kind. It's called chronic myloid leukemia. So I can be treated with a daily tablet. If I take care of myself, I will be completely absolutely fine. So I feel very, very lucky. I wanted to share this with you for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because everyone at home and here has been here for all the wonderful times for the engagements and the weddings and the babies for all of us. So it felt right to share this with you too. And I know many of you have been in similar situations or much, much worse and come out the other side of it stronger and more resilient. That's exactly what I plan to do. I thought I could keep it together and I will. Secondly, the reason I'm telling you is because after I turned 40, I made the decision to prioritize my health. Now they got a skin check after Nat had her scare. I had a mammogram after I had a few lumps and that came back all clear. I even had an eye check and that's fine. But my doctor sent me to get some routine blood tests at the same time. And one of those tests came back with some levels out of whack. So please, particularly for moms who always take care of everyone else, please take care of yourself too and just check in with your doctor. I found out in July, so about a month and a half ago and I only taught a few people here at work. So I wanted to thank a few of them. All of you guys at the desk, Sherva, Nat, particularly Nat for constantly checking in and all the meals as well. So thank you for that. Tomon and Sally who graciously shuffled around their family commitments so I could take care of mine. And our bosses got how many times of them, I've loved it on national television on this show. So many Sarah, Gemma and Anthony who have been so understanding. I'm going to be taking some time off in September and then just return just a few days a week to hear it sunrise. Despite appearances, I feel really positive about it. It generally genuinely is the luckiest, unlucky thing to ever happen to me. I'm just beyond grateful I found it and beyond grateful it's the best case scenario. So there you go. It's still Eddie. First of all, we're really sorry that you've had to go through this, but you, as you say, the treatment is kind of a good one. Explain it. We're so lucky. So literally I can take a daily tablet. My life expectancy doesn't change. I just do need to take care of myself and rest. So we are unbelievably lucky to firstly have access to that in this country and that is the kind that I have. And also I've reacted really well to the medication so far, which is fantastic. And I've had no side effects. And I also had no symptoms, which is why I wanted to give that health warning at all. I didn't have anything. I mean, I was tired, but hey, you know, get up at 3am. So no symptoms at all, no warning signs. And that's really common with this kind of cancer, chronic myeloid leukemia. You often don't have symptoms. You can be very slow going. But if I hadn't prioritized my health and had that check, I could be dealing with a really different situation. So yeah, I think it's just a lot to wrap your head around because it sounds like a scary word. But you know, Brett's for tour to cure you work in this space all the time, you know, just so many amazing breakthroughs and just, yeah, everything crossed and just so incredibly grateful that this is the outcome. Eddie, you have like everything that you approach you've taken this so positively. And I know it's such a strange thing to say that, but you did, you reached out to us personally. You told us this journey that you're about to go on yourself. And the positivity that you bring along with it is the best cure you're going to get because you do it in such an amazing way. So we're right behind you and we always will be. And I know that so many of our viewers as well are right behind you. Thank you, Shiver. Yeah, I was lying down to get my bone marrow biopsy going, I just feel so grateful. And the guy's like, we don't get that vibe in here very often. So yeah, I do, despite, you know, getting emotional about it this morning because it is an emotional thing for me and my family and all of our friends and all of you guys, my work family. I just feel I feel really good. I feel good in myself, but also just, yeah, really, really lucky and really grateful. Yeah. It's still big though to hear that word. And we know that because we've been living this a little bit with you. And the fact that you can take a tablet. I know. It's amazing. And that's what you guys do and all our cancer fundraisers do, which is amazing in this country, isn't it? Yeah. So very, very lucky. And it is important having people around you too is really good. And you have lots of us you can call on and we're here for you. So thank you. And please do. Yeah, I know it's often just said, you know, anything we can do, always do. Thank you. Yeah, it's been a strangely joyous time catching up with so many people and calling them personally to share the news. So there you go. There you go. That's my news this morning. Okay, come here. Okay, we're going to have a group hug. We'll be back. We'll be back soon. Now more than 30% of the eligible population is now fully immunised, but there's a still a long way to go to protect more vulnerable people like pregnant women. Now, we've been talking a lot about this at our house because my daughter-in-law and daughter are both expecting and Eddie, you're due early next year and you've been looking at the importance of vaccines in pregnancy. And there's a lot of data out now on. Yeah, there certainly is. Gosh, you're not. To be honest, this has been a really frustrating and unsettling time. The fires of vaccine is recommended for pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, but it has been near impossible to get an appointment. Only in the last few weeks has pregnancy been added to the priority list, meaning women can now access the jab more easily. And the very stark message from doctors is do it now or you and your baby could end up in hospital and very sick. After a long, long wait, I'm finally booked in to get the fires of vaccine at a GP in Sydney. Even filling out the form is a huge relief because I'm under 40. It's been incredibly difficult to get an appointment. I'm Dr. Hall. I'm going to meet you. Half of the fires of vaccine. Ready. Dr. Douglas Hall has administered thousands of vaccines through his clinic. This is a sheet I'd like you to have a read-up. It outlines the risks of COVID for pregnant women and its startling. Five times the risk of needing admission to hospital. Two to three times the risk of ending up in intensive care. Three times the risk of needing invasive ventilation. It's been quite worrying, Dr., because it's been really hard to get an appointment even though you know the risks for pregnant women. Well, we're booked out for quite some time, but we keep a stand by list for patients who have higher risk. My GP doesn't give Pfizer, but when I went to find another doctor, they wouldn't accept new patients. And pregnancy was only added as a priority group for the vaccine rollout a few weeks ago. The government says it was waiting for more information. In usual terms, vaccines and drugs are not tested on pregnant women, so it's not until we could get this as we call it the real world evidence around the safety and the efficacy of the of the vaccines in pregnant women and in breastfeeding that we've got the data to be confident to make these recommendations. That real world data from the US of 35,000 pregnant women who had an mRNA vaccine now shows the vaccine is safe. Other research demonstrates antibodies can cross over to the placenta protecting your baby too in the first months of life. It's Friday the 13th today, so it feels appropriate to be getting the vaccine. My lucky day, when the confirmation came through that I would finally be getting the vaccine, I was really relieved. I know, I feel like I can leave the house again safely. I'm going to do the grocery shopping, which is exciting, but yeah, I'm really, this feels like the first step to freedom. The process is painless. Which finger there for me to clean? Oh, done already. Easy. Ah, good. That was quick. I didn't even feel that. The solution is that easy and the time experts say is now. The recommendations really clear. Anytime during your pregnancy or when breastfeeding, that's the time to get the prize of that scene. Now posted on my Instagram about vaccines and pregnancy this morning and a number of Instagram influencers fired right back. For God's sake, don't take your health advice from Instagram influencers. Don't take it from me either. Speak to your GP. Speak to midwife, your obstetrician, the health experts in your life who know the data, know the detail and take advice from them. It is still really hard to get a Pfizer vaccine appointment, even though women are on the priority list for breastfeeding mums and for pregnant women, but just keep on trying. You can get it out of vaccine hub or your local GP. I've got a mate who works in a COVID ward whose wife is pregnant as well and he was saying it's horrendous. If you're not, if you're pregnant and get in, get COVID. It's terrible. Pramachial births, the whole thing. It's awful. So don't make it out. So don't make it out of resin. Yeah, don't make any decision until you have gone to your doctor and talked about it. Yeah. Er, Eddie has given birth to a baby boy. Ah, a very big sunrise. Welcome to little Tom Donald Elliott Zaco. According to Eddie, he's already putting mischief, but for now he's just holding on tight to mums.