Louis Walsh reveals blood cancer diagnosis as pal admits he looks 'frail' on Celebrity Big Brother
15.03.2024 - 22:29
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
Louis Walsh revealed he has been fighting a rare form of blood cancer, as he candidly opened up during a chat to his Celebrity Big Brother housemates on Friday night's episode.
The former X Factor judge, 71, has been diagnosed with waldenstrom macroglobulinaemia and explained his health diagnosis gave him a "reality check," during a chat with Levi Roots and Ekin-Su.
Asked about his experiences in lockdown, he replied: “I was sick, and I think nobody knew I was sick. I had cancer – a mild version, a rare one, in my blood," before adding that it "knocked him sick" when he heard the dreaded word.
“I didn’t even know I had it until I went to the hospital. They checked me and then they found it.” Louis said it affected him mentally. Pointing to his head, he admitted: “It’s just up here, even when I go past a hospital I almost get sick. It’s all gone, I’m fine. It was just the shock of being sick and that word – nobody wants that word.
“I have it blocked out, a reality check.You see so many people sick and it’s terrible. In my world it was all about pop music and all that. I didn’t think of anybody getting sick or anything like that. And that was like, wow, reality check – you’re in the real world.”
A pal of the star told the Mirror the condition is the reason why Louis has been sleeping so much on the ITV reality show. A source said: “Louis is in remission currently but you can see how frail he is and that he has lost a lot of weight. It’s also the reason why he’s sleeping so much, it all took a lot out of him.
“The whole experience was the main driver behind signing up for the show. He’d been really ill and just wanted to enjoy life again and thought ‘what the hell’.” The friend explained Louis received 'incredible' care in Dublin