Julia Bradbury has admitted she felt "alone and helpless" before undergoing a mastectomy at the end of last year.
The 51-year-old TV presenter was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2021 and underwent a double mastectomy a month later.
In her new ITV documentary, Julia Bradbury: Breast Cancer and Me, the mother-of-three is very open about her cancer journey pre-surgery and also post operation too
Speaking after her pre-operative assessment, Julia told the cameras: "You just don't have any idea about how this is all going to unravel.
"You're really in the dark about how you're going to feel physically and emotionally. You know you think about chemotherapy, you think about losing parts of your body, has the cancer spread?
"For someone who is very much in control of their life, you feel alone and helpless," Julia continued.
The former Countryfile presenter also spoke about sharing the cancer diagnosis with a her family, and explained why she didn't tell her mum Chrissie for quite a while.
"I didn't tell my mum for a long time. My mum had bowel cancer, my dad had prostate cancer," Julia explained.
"I knew if I just told her, that - to my mum - is just like a death sentence because her mind would go... first of all she'd want to come and live with me straight away and come to every single appointment."
In a lovely scene in the documentary, Julia is seen cooking in the kitchen with her mother as a member of the crew asks her how she is feeling about the news.
"It's like having it all over again to be honest, and I do believe that the worst thing is now waiting," she explained.
Turning to Julia, she then added: "I'm looking forward to recovery and you know what's going to happen when you've recover. You have to stop working, you've got to stop rushing about. It's very important to prepare your body for what's going to happen."
Speaking to the camera, her mother later said: "When she told us she had been diagnosed, I was shellshocked.
"I can't tell you how I felt because I didn't even know myself. I still don't know, other than if someone had said, 'can you take it away from her and you can have it?' I would have said yes."
Julia Bradbury: Breast Cancer and Me is available to watch on ITV Hub.
You can call the Macmillan Support Line on 0808 808 00 00 for more information.
