Kate Tickle tells of dream-led cancer diagnosis and discharge from Christie's

Actress Kate Tickle has described how a vivid dream led her to check her right breast and find a lump, which was later diagnosed as early breast cancer. In a TV interview during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, she said she was diagnosed in April 2025 and that a mammogram picked up the cancer early.

She said she fell asleep one night with her hand on her right breast and dreamed she could feel a lump. When she woke, she pressed the area and found a lump. She went straight to the doctor and had a mammogram. She had thought mammograms were mainly for women in their 50s, but a doctor told her she was eligible because she was over 40. A biopsy followed, then a 12-week wait for results.

Tickle described the emotional strain of that wait. She said she woke up crying for about a week, frightened for her four sons, who depend on their mother. She said a kind of inner strength took over and compared the experience to going through a tunnel: there are uncomfortable parts, but there is light on the other side.

She had a mastectomy and an implant was put in to give back some shape. She said she rang the bell two days ago and was discharged from Christie's after finishing treatment, calling it a very emotional day. She also spoke about telling her children. She hid her diagnosis letter under her bed, but her son Danny found it and asked her if she had breast cancer and whether she would die. She reassured him that the cancer had been caught early. She said her father was brilliant and helped reassure him too.

The interview also covered her acting career. She said she has a small speaking role in a Giorgio Armani biopic, and that Richard Gere and Angelina Jolie are in the film. She trained as an actress, worked in presenting and appeared in esure car insurance commercials for Michael Winner. She said she was 43 and had four boys, and that cancer can happen at any age.

In advice to viewers, Tickle urged women and men to check their breasts and go to the doctor if anything does not feel right. She said everything is better caught early. For people going through treatment, she said to take everything day by day, not to rush recovery and to be kind to yourself. The host, who said he was a cancer survivor of 23 years, also shared his own experience as a single parent and described a "fear monkey" that can make people worry.