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'I'm afraid the time has come': BBC radio presenter says she has just days left to live

Rachael Bland was diagnosed with breast cancer just under two years ago.

A BBC RADIO presenter has said that she has been told she only has a few days left to live, after doctors were unable to cure her breast cancer.

Rachael Bland, a regular news presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live, took to Twitter to announce the news, saying: “In the words of the legendary Frank S – I’m afraid the time has come my friends.

And suddenly. I’m told I’ve got only days. It’s very surreal. Thanks so much for all the support I’ve received.

Diagnosed in November 2016 with triple negative breast cancer, Bland has appeared on a regular podcast talking about her experiences in You, Me and the Big C. Her co-hosts Deborah James and Lauren Mahon will continue with the podcast.

The 40-year-old was told in May this year that her cancer is incurable, and told last month she was not eligible for clinical trials of new treatments because of medical complications. Since May, the cancer has spread further. 

She said in July that she was in the process of writing a memoir that she could leave behind for her two-year-old son Freddie.

Colleagues and friends responded to her tweet praising the presenter.

A 5 live colleague Nicky Campbell called her “an astonishing human being” while another, Tony Livesey, said she had “so much courage”. 

BBC presenter Victoria Derbyshire said: “Courage, grace, laughter – that’s you. You are amazing.”

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    Mute Jim Bradley
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    Sep 4th 2018, 1:03 PM

    So sad

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    Mute Lou Sypher
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    Sep 4th 2018, 1:24 PM

    This really puts things into perspective. When you think you have problems & the you read about this. The poor woman, how she must feel knowing her son will grow up without her.

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    Mute David McShite
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    Sep 4th 2018, 2:16 PM

    Walk into St James’s Hospital oncology or Breast Care departments any day of the week and see the human face of the reality of cancer. The numbers are staggering and cover all ages.
    There is a disconnect between reading an article such as this (tragic as it is) and the actual daily reality of cancer in our country. It’s a largely private and silent journey for many as they keep their condition to a close circle of family and friends and try to mask the physical effects of their condition and treatment in public.

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    Mute Greg Cavey
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    Sep 4th 2018, 2:24 PM

    @David McShite: Very well put David.

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    Mute David Garland
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    Sep 4th 2018, 1:29 PM

    Hundreds of billions has already gone into research and still we’re a million miles away from a cure of certain cancers. Maybe they should start spending money on prevention and alternative treatments that doesn’t line the pockets of the big pharmaceutical companies..

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    Mute Karen Wellington
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    Sep 4th 2018, 1:34 PM

    @David Garland: part of the research being done is in the line of prevention, if we already knew how to prevent the other 6/10 types of cancer there wouldn’t be any new diagnoses

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    Mute John Boy
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    Sep 4th 2018, 1:59 PM

    @David Garland: yep alternative treatments work out great, just ask Steve Jobs…

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    Mute Barry Somers
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    Sep 4th 2018, 2:02 PM

    @John Boy: yep, Steve had millions to spend to try save his life by sourcing anything that would make a difference , no alternative treatments did anything for him

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    Mute Dermot Lane
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    Sep 4th 2018, 2:51 PM

    @David Garland: alternative treatments? Like what? Billions are already spent worldwide on preventive measures, awareness campaigns and screening programs.

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    Mute David Garland
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    Sep 4th 2018, 3:12 PM

    @Dermot Lane: For example processed meats have recently been labelled as a carcinogen.. Yet I’d say 70% of school children have processed meats in their luchboxes.. There are also links between Dairy and some cancers yet no government agency will come out and say this because it would destroy the agricultural sector overnight..

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    Mute Brian Boru
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    Sep 4th 2018, 3:29 PM

    @Dermot Lane: They don’t have to go down the route of alternative treatments as traditional research has already begun to give results. We know the human papillomavirus (HPV) is an infection passed during sex which can cause a number of different types of cancer in men and women.
    But we have a vaccine. Like everything in life, there are no guarantees and it’s not claimed to be 100% effective, but it’s close and better than no protection. However there are those ‘experts’ who claim it isn’t safe. We should also bear in mind that senior police officers and pilots claim to have experienced UFO abductions and the like, so isolated incidents involving qualified people prove little.

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    Mute Thomas Paine
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    Sep 4th 2018, 4:16 PM

    @David Garland: you could buy a lot of crystals and homeopathic cures for a billion, problem is that they would do f-all good, 100bn is only 14€ for each person on earth so it isn’t that much

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    Mute Roger Wynne
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    Sep 4th 2018, 4:35 PM

    @David Garland: Stem cell research is the only direction that medicine should go…….but big pharma will hold out as long as they can before that is the norm.

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    Mute Gary Sommerville
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    Sep 4th 2018, 7:48 PM

    @David Garland: CRISPR… Google it

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    Mute Pat Patovic
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    Sep 5th 2018, 6:12 AM

    @Brian Boru: You cant make a vaccine against stupidity. That said you are safe from HPV unless you are that type who try to have sex with everybody out there.

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    Mute Ian Oh
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    Sep 5th 2018, 10:10 PM

    @John Boy: That is the overly simplistic slant portrayed by mainstream media which is that alternative medicine killed Steve Jobs. The fact is that he had liver and pancreatic cancer. Look up the life expectation and the cure rate results for these cancers using conventional methods of treatment before you spout off about something you know nothing about. Here is an interview about Steve’s cancers and the complications: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqt3H5YnO1k The truth of the matter is that conventional methods had already truly failed Steve Jobs before he opted for some alternative methods. Clearly, media bias exists where it was shouted from the roof tops about Steve Jobs death after trying alternatives, yet liver and pancreatic cancer patients are dying every other day whilst undergoing conventional treatment methods, and no one utters a sound.

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    Mute David Duffy
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    Sep 4th 2018, 1:04 PM

    The poor woman. That must be so hard to hear.

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    Mute Paul Murphy
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    Sep 4th 2018, 1:40 PM

    And you think your having a bad day….

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    Mute Christopher Byrne
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    Sep 4th 2018, 2:00 PM

    Terribly sad…don’t stress the small things folks

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    Mute John A. Dixon
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    Sep 4th 2018, 2:16 PM

    That’s a strong woman there.
    Cancer scares the life out of me.
    The fact that you can be so sick and not know you are. Then when you find out, it may be too late.

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    Mute David Carino
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    Sep 4th 2018, 2:10 PM

    If indeed she did tweet this message it’s shows he strength right up until the end . God bless you x

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    Mute Sean Creighton
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    Sep 4th 2018, 2:04 PM

    A truly brave lady. What fortitude.

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    Mute Nicholas Lynch
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    Sep 4th 2018, 1:24 PM

    We really need to spend more on cancer research.

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    Mute RoisinSheridan#focus
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    Sep 4th 2018, 3:46 PM

    A lovely woman

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    Mute helen walsh
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    Sep 4th 2018, 7:36 PM

    God bless her

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    Mute WJH
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    Sep 4th 2018, 1:38 PM

    F@#K CANCER!!!!

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    Mute andyearley
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    Sep 5th 2018, 12:02 AM

    God the poor girl. That’s unimaginable. Hope she proves them wrong!

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