TV presenter shuns wig for screen comeback after brain tumour surgery
Glamorous Vicki Browne, 52, is making her TV comeback a year after surgery to remove a brain tumour and undergoing chemo and radiotherapy. She refuses to wear a wig on screen to raise awareness of The Brain Tumour Charity’s work.
12/1/2015
In a bold move in the selfie-obsessed world of female TV presenters, mum-of-one Vicki is making her screen comeback on Wednesday (14 January) with patchy, downy hair after brain surgery.
“I’m making a stand by not wearing a wig or head scarves,” she says. “I’m proud of how I look. It shows that I’ve suffered and been through a terrible time – but I’m here, doing well and looking forward to a positive future.
“I’ve tried wearing wigs but I just don’t like them. Then I asked myself; ‘Who am I wearing this wig for? Why should I cover up in a head scarf?’ If it makes people feel uncomfortable, then it’s their perspective that needs to change.”
Viewers have inundated The Jewellery Channel - broadcast to 21 million households in the UK – asking when popular Vicki is back, after a year off screen. Dubbed the Queen of Sparkle, she has been a presenter since the channel launched nine years ago.
Vicki has had two brain tumours in three years. In 2011 she had surgery to remove a benign astrocytoma two years after her husband died suddenly from a heart attack at the age of 42. Doctors believe the stress and trauma of being widowed and struggling to make ends meet as a single mum to her son Louis, now 19, accelerated the tumour’s growth.
She had routine MRI scans every three months which showed another small astrocytoma in July 2013. She had surgery in January 2014 to remove the tumour and surgeons also removed a rare cancerous tumour which was inside the benign growth.
For seven weeks, Monday-Friday, she had chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London. Then for six months she went in for chemotherapy for three nights a week.
Even during her chemo, Vicki insisted on dressing up to the nines and piled on her bling. “Looking good and wearing lots of sparkle made me feel better,” she says. ““I wanted to be as positive as I could and cheer the other patients up, too.”
But she admits it was a crushing blow when she lost her long, dark, lustrous hair. “My hair has always been a huge part of my culture and personality,” says Vicki whose parents are Indian. “So it was the worst part of my illness when I lost all my hair. But Louis was really supportive. He gave me a big hug and told me; ‘You rock bald, Mum!’”
Now Vicki, from Windsor, Berkshire is making her comeback with her black locks replaced with a light covering of downy hair. “My hair will grow back but, meanwhile, I’m happy being on screen as I am.”
“I’m working with The Brain Tumour Charity to help raise awareness about brain tumours – it’s the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40.
“I’m also challenging how we all too often judge female TV presenters on their looks. They can do the most professional job, but still get criticised for their clothes or putting on weight.
“Despite everything I’ve been through – or maybe because of it – I live life to the full and cherish every moment.”
Carol Dyce, PR & Media Officer (Lifestyle) The Brain Tumour Charity
DD: 01252 749991 | M: 07885 466924 | carol.dyce@thebraintumourcharity.org
About The Brain Tumour Charity
Registered Charity No. 1150054 (England and Wales) SC045081 (Scotland)
The Brain Tumour Charity is at the forefront of the fight to defeat brain tumours and is making a difference every day to the lives of people with a brain tumour and their families.
They fund pioneering research to increase survival and improve treatment options and raise awareness of the symptoms and effects of brain tumours to get earlier diagnosis and to help families cope with everything that the diagnosis of a brain tumour brings. They provide support for everyone affected so that they can live as full a life as possible, with the best quality of life.
They fund and promote the UK-wide HeadSmart campaign, raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of brain tumours in children and young people to make earlier diagnosis a reality. Earlier diagnosis will reduce long term disabilities and save lives. In just thee years, HeadSmart has reduced average diagnosis time from 9.1 weeks to 6.7 weeks.
Find out more at: www.thebraintumourcharity.org
Members of the Association of Medical Research Charities, The Information Standard, The Helplines Partnership and the Fundraising Standards Board.
Brain tumours – the facts
Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40.
Over 9,300 people are diagnosed each year with a primary brain tumour, including 500 children and young people – that’s 25 people every day.
Almost 5,000 people lose their lives to a brain tumour each year.
Thousands more are diagnosed with secondary brain tumours, which are not recorded.
Brain tumours reduce life expectancy by on average 20 years – the highest of any cancer.
Just 14% of adults survive for five years after diagnosis.
Brain tumours are the largest cause of preventable or treatable blindness in children.
Childhood brain tumour survivors are 10 times more likely to suffer long term disability than well children.
This accounts for 20,000 additional disabled life years for all the children who are diagnosed each year.
Research offers the only real hope of dramatic improvements in the management and treatment of brain tumours.
Over £500m is spent on cancer research in the UK every year, yet less than 2% is spent on brain tumours.
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