While battling a life-threatening condition can be a lonely process, some celebrities have decided to share their journey with their fans, in the hope they can feel less alone. Dame Esther Rantzen, a British journalist and broadcaster, decided to make her terminal lung cancer diagnosis public back in 2023.
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Her daughter Rebecca Wilcox recently opened up about her mother's state of health, after she received some terrible news. Find out everything you need to know below.
Dame Esther Rantzen's daughter gives health update
The 84-year-old broadcaster was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2023, and she had been told she only had a few weeks left to live. However, Dame Esther Rantzen defied the odds last year, after she started a new treatment. She told the Timesthe new drug had slowed down the progress of her cancer, giving her time to plan ahead for her loved-ones. On Thursday 27 March 2025, the journalist's daughter Rebecca Wilcox was a guest on 5 News. During the interview, she revealed that the treatment had sadly stopped working for her mother. After being asked if Dame Esther Rantken's health was improving, she answered:
I really wish that was true but I don't think that's the case anymore.
Both Dame Esther Rantken and her daughter Rebecca Wilcox are advocates of making assisted dying legal in the UK. Speaking to 5 News, Rebecca Wilcox explained why assisted dying was fundamental. She said:
I just wish that people understood that all the assisted dying bill is, is choice for people that want it. All it is, is giving you peace of mind and that peace of mind, I cannot tell you how powerful that would be right now for my mum.
Rebecca Wilcox explained the uncertainty of how your life will end is an extremely stressful process, one that could be made more peaceful by making assisted dying legal. She went on:
I'm a witness to the trauma of uncertainty, to the trauma of stress around what is going to happen. The fact that she doesn't know how her death is going to happen, how the pain is going to progress, the exhaustion, the fatigue, what symptoms are going to come in.
Dame Esther Rantken's daughter also paid tribute to her mother, and how she devoted her life to helping others. She concluded:
She is a person who has fought her whole life for other people, and she has no control now. Why can't we give people like my mum with a terminal diagnosis, with no other choice, some choice as to when and how and where they die?
Who is Dame Esther Rantzen?
Dame Esther Rantken is a broadcaster and campaigner who has appeared in more than 2,000 television programs, such as documentaries, talk shows, reality show and quizzes. She also wrote many columns for several newspapers, including The Times, Telegraph, and the Daily Mail.
Rantken, who is an honorary fellow of the Somerville University of Oxford, is best known for founding Childline, a free and confidential helpline for children and young adults, in 1986. In 2012, Dame Esther Rantken also founded the Silver Line Helpline, a free and confidential helpline for older people, which 'provides information, friendship and advice 24 hours a day, every day of the year', according to their website.
Read more:
Esther Rantzen: Everything you need to know about the BBC journalist from personal life to illness
Grimes shares ADHD and autism diagnosis as she warns about mental health content on social media
Sources used:
Daily Mail: Esther Rantzen’s daughter gives a heartbreaking health update on star's terminal cancer diagnosis in emotional interview
The Times: Esther Rantzen: ‘I didn’t think I would see my tulips bloom’
Somerville University of Oxford: Dame Esther Rantzen
