JULIA ADMITS HER CANCER DIAGNOSIS IN 2021 WAS "COMPLETELY TERRIFYING" 16:11, 02 Jun 2025 Julia Bradbury’s stress hormones used to be so high that a doctor told her it was like she

was being chased by a tiger all day. And then she got cancer. Now, four years since she found a lump in her breast and had a mastectomy, the TV presenter, 54, has turned her life around and

has finally got the balance right. She said: “I didn’t have a very balanced life before cancer. Now, I really do feel grateful for every day – balance is very, very important.” Julia, who

presented Countryfile and a number of other TV documentaries, many of them about walking, said: “I’ve had my cortisol [stress hormone] measured, and historically it’s been through the roof.

a little bit of security and peace somewhere where you’re not being chased.” Article continues below So now Julia, who’s written six books about walking, plus the forthcoming health tips

book Hack Yourself Healthy which will be published in September, does breath work and meditation every morning at first light, meditates at night, and exercises regularly. She said: "I

try very much to build peaceful, calm moments into my day, because it’s very, very important for me, particularly post a cancer diagnosis. "It’s very important to maintain, to keep your

stress levels at a minimum, but not always easy when you’re running around and trying to meet book deadlines and TV deadlines and all the rest of it. “So I make sure I carve out those times

in the day for me to do my nature walk, to do my breath work, to really calm my cortisol levels. And that for me, I believe, is life-saving.” She also journals and, perhaps most

importantly, spends as much quality time as possible with her three children – Zephyr, 13, and her twin daughters Xanthe and Zena, 10 “I really revel in being present with them and doing

things with them that are nourishing and enriching – not big things, just being with them and spending time together is really, really important.” And she still values life’s smaller wins

too, explaining: “Nurturing those small things is important – that early morning cuppa, if you’re lucky enough to have a balcony or open a window or have a garden, and you have that first

cup of tea, and it’s a peaceful moment for you. “Those are the big things in my life. Now, I say that the small things are the big things.” She admits her cancer diagnosis in 2021 was

“completely terrifying,” saying: “I don’t think there’d be anybody who’s heard the words ‘you’ve got cancer’ who wouldn’t immediately be terrified. It’s a frightening sentence to be on the

receiving end of, but I very quickly became the journalist on myself, and started examining myself as a story, if you like, and examining and researching cancer and treatment.” Four years

after she underwent a mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction, had some lymph nodes removed, and had chemotherapy, Julia says she’s “really well, and taking good care of myself,” and

is looking forward to next year which will be five years after her diagnosis. She said: “The magic number is five, isn’t it? If you survive past five years, then statistically, you’re a

survivor of cancer.” She says she still has check-ups and does very robust self-checking, but stresses: “It really made an enormous impact on my life – but I can’t say it was all negative.

For me, it’s been a bit of a wake-up call.” She says she doesn’t eat junk food any more, pointing out that previously she “ate enough junk food to last a lifetime.” She also avoids

ultra-processed foods and sweets, which she admits is “really hard in the television industry, because people tend to fuel themselves on bags of [sweets].” In addition, she says: “I didn’t

take care of my sleep, I was drinking too much, in my opinion, and I was eating too much sugar. “Excess sugar causes all sorts of problems on a cellular level for us, and also damages the

liver. And if your liver isn’t functioning properly, you’re not excreting the toxins you need to. So I really wasn’t giving myself the best chance by hammering my liver with loads of sugar,

and alcohol as well. “What about beauty stuff, and make-up? You look at it and you go ‘how many toxins is my body dealing with every day, and am I supporting my liver in the best possible

way to help it try and eliminate those toxins?’ Article continues below “And if you’re not, because you’re not moving, and you’re indulging in too many of the other things that are clogging

you up, then from my point of view I think your body’s going to get into trouble.” Julia Bradbury is fronting the new Free to Breathe campaign from organic skin care brand Green People to

educate people on ways to prevent heat rash this summer.