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Louise Thomas
Editor
Janey Godley has revealed the “worst thing” about dying as she receives end-of-life care.
In September, the Scottish comedian confirmed that her cancer had spread and she is now getting palliative care in a hospice.
“The chemo ran out of options and I just couldn’t take any more of it and the cancer has spread,” the 63-year-old said in a video at the time. “So it looks like this will be getting to near the end of it and it’s really difficult to speak about this and say to people.”
In a new interview with The Times, conducted together with her 38-year-old daughter, Ashley Storrie, Godley revealed what she believes to be the “worst thing” about approaching the end of her life.
Godley said that she dreads to think of the day she is unable to see Ashley, a comedian and actor, who she called “the best thing to come out of my vagina”.
“She’s my big success in life and I’m dead proud of her,” Godley added. “The worst thing about me dying is not being able to see her. I can’t imagine being a spirit and not having her in my orbit.”
Similarly, Godley said the “worst” part of her cancer diagnosis was having to tell her daughter.
“The worst part of it was having to tell Ashley,” Godley told the publication. “She has always been a catastrophiser; telling her was like throwing a hand grenade.”
Godley was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2021, and has undergone treatment since then, which she called “dreadful”.
“I had been on chemo, which kept pushing it back, but have run out of options and the cancer has spread,” she told The Times.
“So it looks like this will be getting to near the end of it. I’m now in palliative care and at end-of-life care in the hospital. It is devastating news to know that I’m facing end-of-life, but we all come to an end sometimes.”
Speaking about her mother’s diagnosis, Storrie said: “It’s horrible not to see her at her usual full tilt, but I love that she has done it all her own way and is still fearless.”
Since confirming that she has entered palliative care, Godley has received an outpouring of love and support from friends and celebrities, including Nigella Lawson, comedian Dom Joly, and former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Sturgeon, who Godley famously pastiched in a viral video during the Covid pandemic, wrote: “Sending you so much love, my friend. You are an inspiration.”
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, LBC Radio host James O’Brien, and former first minister Humza Yousaf also shared their well wishes with the comedian.
The news of her cancer returning last month came two years after Godley was given the all-clear back in 2022. In a post on Twitter, she said that a scan showed “no evidence of disease”.
However, she later announced that another scan had shown signs of the disease in her abdomen but added that she would continue touring.
In September, she announced that she was cancelling her Why Is She Still Here? UK tour after being advised to stop working “for the foreseeable future”.
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