Frankie Bridge admitted she was left shocked after doctors found a benign tumor in her neck and revealed it “knocked her to the side”.
The Saturday star, 36, was discovered to have a benign tumor in his neck last year after he underwent an MRI due to constant headaches.
While the tumor was thankfully nothing sinister, Frankie confessed that she initially “thought the worst” after doctors gave her the shocking news.
In a reflective Instagram post on his 36th birthday on Tuesday, Frankie opened up about how the health scare changed his approach to life going forward.
She wrote: ‘This year after finally going to a doctor for my daily headaches and having an MRI. They discover a tumor in my neck.
“The call left me baffled. They had no idea what it was at the time and I obviously thought the worst.
Frankie Bridge admitted the news of a shock tumor in her neck “knocked her to the side” as the star reveals she “thought the worst” amid the health scare.
The Saturday star, 36, was discovered to have a benign tumor in his neck last year after he underwent an MRI due to constant headaches.
“I was very angry at myself for not going to the doctor sooner. I was convinced that I was dying now and I probably could have done something to prevent it. Luckily for me, that wasn’t the case.”
Frankie explained that the tumor is a benign subependymoma, which is very rare but has nothing to do with his headaches.
Growing in his spinal cord and along his neck, he revealed that doctors have decided not to remove it for now and will simply monitor him for any changes.
She continued: ‘It made me realize that things may be happening inside my body and I have no idea. This thing has been growing there probably my entire life.
“There are so many other things that could be happening exactly the same and I could have prevented them.”
Speaking about stress management, Frankie added: ‘Turns out headaches are due to stress. I also have intestinal problems due to stress.
‘We know that many cancers and illnesses can be exasperated or triggered by stress, but every time a doctor tells me to find time to “manage my stress,” I just laugh.
‘I have depression, anxiety, two children, a husband, a job and many other factors in my life that, like all of them, create stress. Stress is just a part of my daily life.
In a reflective Instagram post on his 36th birthday on Tuesday, Frankie opened up about how the health scare changed his approach to life going forward.
Frankie explained that the tumor is a benign subependymoma, which is very rare but has nothing to do with his headaches.
Frankie revealed that when she was told about the tumour, her husband Wayne Bridge was away and she was making dinner for her children Parker, nine, and Carter, seven.
“I will take all the pills to mask all the symptoms, instead of addressing them.” Until now….’
Revealing how he wants to adapt the ‘1% theory’, he concluded: ‘I hope to be 100% at all times, in all things. Even though I’ve always known this is impossible, that hasn’t stopped me from trying and then beating myself up every day for not achieving it.
And to be honest, I’ve had enough. It doesn’t work for me or anyone else in my life.’
Speaking about the tumor last February, Frankie told the Loose Women panel: ‘I recently had an MRI and by chance they found something in my neck, so I had to have another MRI.
“It turned out to be a benign tumor, it doesn’t need treatment, it’s absolutely fine.”
Frankie revealed that the diagnosis came at the worst possible time, as her husband Wayne Bridge was away and she was single-handedly looking after her children Parker, nine, and Carter, seven.
She continued: ‘But for the first week, when the doctor called me, I was alone and Wayne was away. I was preparing dinner for the boys.
‘I instantly thought: ‘that’s it, this is my moment, I’m going to get sick.’ I went straight to “oh god, I’m going to die.”
‘Luckily for me, it’s very rare and they only found it because they were scanning me for headaches.
“That week when I didn’t tell the kids, or my friends, anything about it, I spent the week as if nothing had happened.”
Frankie also previously revealed that he suffered from headaches caused by muscle tension in his neck and jaw.
He explained that he was trying to relieve the tension in his neck that arose from clenching his jaw too frequently and that he had booked muscle relaxant injections.
Frankie said: ‘No matter how many massages I get… I’m a big jaw clencher. So I always have tension neck pain, which always causes tension headaches. So I thought I’d try something new with @natalikellyldn.’
Aesthetic practitioner Natali Kelly then explained the treatment, saying she would inject a neuromodulator to relax the muscles and achieve “less pain and an elongated swan-like neck.”
Frankie confessed to her followers: ‘I was definitely nervous. Can you tell? But I couldn’t actually feel anything! Phew! I’ll let you know if it helps!’