Cancer scared me so much – it feels amazing to have the all-clear, reveals Page 3 legend Sam Fox
PAGE Three favourite Sam Fox has told how a “weight has been lifted” after being given the all-clear following her cancer scare.
Sam, who first appeared in The Sun in 1983 and is now a singer, had surgery last month to remove a 10mm growth, which doctors feared could be cancerous, from her throat,
She then faced an agonising wait before medics told her it was a benign polyp.
The 56-year-old was so worried about the outcome that she told how she comforted herself by thinking that if she died, at least she would be reunited with her lost loved ones.
The Touch Me singer, who has sold more than 30million records and performs all over the world, said: “I really cried a lot. I’m such a positive person but it’s hard when you’ve got something like that hanging over you. I was very fearful.”
Sam lost her ex-fiancée and manager Myra Stratton to cancer in August 2015.
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She added: “It felt very close to home, because I cared for Myra for so long after she was diagnosed with cancer in 2013. I saw her go down and down and down for two years.
‘VERY FRIGHTENING’
“I watched her waste away and saw the amount of drugs she was on.
“That was seven years ago, but when I was waiting for my results it felt like yesterday. All of the memories came flooding back.
“My mum, who had breast cancer and came through it, told me not to think about the worst-case scenario.
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“She is so positive and that’s how she got through it herself. I was thinking that if I did have cancer, that’s how I would be. I would be like my mum and like Myra, who did everything on her bucket list.
“I’d be strong and I would think I was going to get better, even if someone told me it was terminal.
“I also thought that if it was bad news, and anything happened to me, I would see my late nan and grandad again, I’d see my dad — all the loved ones I’ve lost.
“That brought me a lot of comfort. But it was a very frightening time.”
Sam, who recently married Norwegian mother-of-two and tour manager Linda Olsen, 48, added: “When my doctor finally gave me the all-clear I had this incredible feeling of relief. I was with my mum and my wife Linda, and we were all very emotional.
“They were telling me to stop crying in case I damaged my vocal cords. Then I was texting all my nearest and dearest — everyone — to say I was cancer-free. It was a wonderful day.”
Sam, told the Sun on Sunday last month that worried doctors had discovered the lump between her vocal cords after she experienced problems with her singing voice. A week later she married Linda, who was escorted down the aisle by her twin sons Adam and Noah, in a lavish ceremony at a hotel in Essex.
Sam was booked in for surgery to remove the polyp the following week.
The pair got engaged in March 2020, and Sam said: “Our wedding was such a magical day. But afterwards, I was desperate to get into hospital and have the lump taken out. The following week I had an endoscopy to see if the medication I was taking had shrunk it, but it hadn’t. Then the doctor told me somebody due in theatre that Thursday had cancelled due to Covid-19, and I said to him, ‘Can I have their appointment?’
“Four days later I had the operation. I couldn’t wait to get in there, I couldn’t wait to get it out.” Sam’s mother Carole, 76, and Linda accompanied the singer to the hospital.
I really cried a lot. I’m such a positive person but it’s hard when you’ve got something like that hanging over you. I was very fearful.
She recalled: “When I woke up from the operation, the first thing I said to the doctor was, ‘Is it cancer?’ I kept saying it, over and over. My mum was trying to calm me down, saying that they wouldn’t know until the results came back.
“The doctor did tell me that when they took it out, the area behind it looked very clean, and he thought I would be OK. But there was still that fear.” Sam, who first spoke about her blossoming romance with Linda when she appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, went on: “My wife was really worried too, bless her, though she was being very positive. In the week after the operation she focused on reminding me to do all the things I needed to do.
“I had to take medicine to keep my throat acid-free, and I was on a nebuliser six times a day. I also had to inhale steam and do exercises to help my vocal cords. Every hour I had to do something, and she was reminding me.
“We were staying on a beautiful farm in the countryside and we tried to relax. We went for lots of picnics and walks and had barbecues. I didn’t want to sit around being depressed. But it was a very difficult week for both of us, it was hard to keep the negative thoughts out of my head.
FOCUS ON THE FUTURE
“Since I had the all-clear it’s been amazing. I haven’t slept through the night for months, but now I can do that again because I’m not worrying.”
Though Sam has received good news, she told how she has another endoscopy booked later this month to establish if the operation has left any scarring. Then there will be six-monthly checks.
Now that her voice is recovering, the Eighties pin-up is already making plans to return to performing live — with a series of gigs lined up in Norway in September, then Mexico and France. She said: “Then I’ve got a new album coming in the New Year. Next year will be a big one, my 40th year in showbiz. It’s a fantastic milestone and I can’t believe it, really.
“But before all of that, Linda and I are planning to have our honeymoon.
“We are searching for romantic getaways for next month at the moment. We don’t just want to lie on a sun-lounger, we want to have a proper adventure together.
“I can’t believe we have been married over a month already. And now that I’ve had the all-clear we can put all that worry behind us and focus on the future.”
Since I had the all-clear it’s been amazing. I haven’t slept through the night for months, but now I can do that again because I’m not worrying.
Sam had feared the operation to remove the lump could damage her vocal cords and put paid to her long-standing singing career.
She explained: “I can’t wait to start singing properly again, to see how my voice is.
“Before I had the operation I had quite a husky voice — if I’d done a jazz and blues album it would have been amazing — but I had no falsetto at all.
“From the exercises I’ve tried so far with my vocal therapist my voice seems OK, and it even seems clearer. That has been a huge relief, because I was worried that after the operation I wouldn’t sing again. I don’t know what I’m going to sound like now. But I’m hoping it’s even better than before. My mum keeps joking I might open my mouth and discover that I’ve got a voice like Whitney Houston. Wouldn’t that be amazing?
“Whatever I sound like, I can’t wait to get back out there performing again. I can’t wait to thank my fans for all of their support since the scare.
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“I’ve had so many lovely messages on Facebook and Instagram and so many people saying they are praying for me, which has helped to keep me going and get me through it really.
“I believe people’s prayers really make a difference, and I am so grateful.”
