ESTHER Rantzen’s daughter Rebecca Wilcox issued an update on her mum’s health today as she lives with terminal cancer.
The campaigner and broadcaster, who turns 86 on June 22, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in 2023.
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Rebecca Wilcox gave an update on her mum Dame Esther Rantzen’s condition Credit: JeremyVineOn5 / X
Esther, pictured in 2018, is living with lung cancer Credit: Getty
Her daughter Rebecca, 46, appeared on today’s Vanessa show and said that each day is a “miracle” and that she and Dame Esther are “astonished” she is still alive.
She said: “It’s her birthday coming up. She’s going to be 86 which is brilliant. She’s as astonished as anybody that she’s still here.
“We are so grateful. She was diagnosed three years ago with terminal stage four lung and breast cancer so every day is a wonderful miracle and we really are cherishing it. We are just so grateful to have her here.”
Rebecca said her mum is still able to enjoy her garden at home, which she created and cultivated from scratch with her late husband Desmond, who died in 2000.
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“Her garden is her passion,” she said. “It is gorgeous. She’s an early adopter of rewilding. Monty Don has nothing on her. They built this garden from nothing. It was a dilapidated farm. I got married there.”
Dame Esther has been campaigning with Dignity in Dying to make assisted dying legal in the UK and allow terminally ill people the choice to choose how and when they die.
Along with fellow campaigner Prue Leith, she was included in the influential 2026 Women in Westminster: The 100 list.
Speaking in March, she said: “I’m extremely grateful for this Award, it is humbling to be included among so many extraordinary women. I would like to pay a personal tribute to Dame Prue Leith, who has not only made cake-baking and spectacle-wearing stylish and fashionable but she has added her invaluable support to the cause of assisted dying.”
While the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill made it through a Parliamentary vote, it faces heavy scrutiny in the House of Lords where 1,200 amendments have been tabled.
