Countryfile star Adam Henson has bravely opened up about his wife Charlie’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis and how has it affected their family – including the heartbreaking admission that she wrote goodbye letters to her loved ones.
The television presenter, 58, revealed that the couple ‘cried a lot’ and decided to get married quickly after Charlie was diagnosed, seeing the wedding as a way of ‘saying goodbye to everyone’.
Charlie, who is now in ongoing recovery, fell ill over Christmas 2020 and went to see a doctor when she was still unwell in February 2021. Doctors later found a 4.5cm tumour.
The couple married in September 2021 in a ceremony in front of their closest loved ones at Stroud Registrar Office – just one day before Charlie was booked in for surgery.
In 2023, Adam told The Mirror: ‘Those vows cemented my emotions and let me say from the heart how I feel about Charlie.’
Countryfile star Adam Henson has bravely opened up about his wife Charlie’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis and how has it affected their family (pictured in 2019)
The pair had first met in their teenage years in sixth form and live together on the 1600-acre Cotswolds farm where Adam grew up – they are proud parents to children Ella and Alfie, who are now both in their twenties.
Charlie admitted marriage had never been important to her until her diagnosis, especially because at the time, she was unsure if the cancer was terminal or not.
Thankfully, it was later confirmed that Charlie had a neuroendocrine tumour, which looked operable.
She was booked in for surgery on the day after the wedding and the whole family drove down to London for the operation.
Heartwrenchingly, Charlie recalled how she prepared for the worst: ‘Saying goodbye to them all at the hospital was horrible.
‘Cancer is so lonely – you get all this love and support from everyone, but you’re still on your own. It’s so hard.
‘I’d written letters to Adam, the children and my sisters, and left them in my bedside table for them to find.
‘All I could do now was cling on to the fact that I still had a chance, however tiny.’
The pair first met in their teenage years in sixth form and live together on the 1600-acre Cotswolds farm where Adam grew up – they are proud parents to children Ella and Alfie, who are now both in their twenties (pictured in 2023)
The television presenter, 58, revealed that the couple ‘cried a lot’ and decided to get married quickly after Charlie’s diagnosis, seeing the wedding as a way of ‘saying goodbye to everyone’ (pictured on Countryfile last month)
Charlie underwent the surgery, which was successful, and is now in ‘ongoing recovery’ and has scans every six months, while she admits she still finds waiting for the results ‘absolutely terrifying’.
When Charlie first began feeling unwell in February 2021, the couple booked a GP appointment and were referred for various tests.
At first, her stool samples were analysed for a possible farm infection and they came back negative. But by May, Charlie was suffering with crippling diarrhoea and had lost 10lb in weight, admitting she felt ‘drained’ and ‘washed out’.
She then had a malabsorption test to check her digestion and the test revealed she wasn’t producing enough enzymes to produce her food and her GP diagnosed an ‘insufficient pancreas’, which is treatable with diet changes and medication.
Charlie was told by doctors there was nothing to worry about but she was still concerned after she ran an internet search of her symptoms, which showed they were consistent with pancreatic cancer.
Her doctor insisted it was ‘highly unlikely’ she had the disease but booked her in for a scan.
After an agonising five-week wait, where the family thought ‘no news means good news’, the test results came back.
Getting the news while Charlie was away filming in Scotland in August 2021, Charlie was told over the phone she had pancreatic cancer and that a 4.5cm tumour was found.
Cancer: Charlie fell ill over Christmas 2020 and went to see a doctor when she was still unwell in February 2021, and doctors later found a 4.5cm tumour. She is now in ‘ongoing recovery’
The TV star is best known for his presenting role on Countryfile, which he has held since 2001 when Charlie – who is a location manager with the BBC – encouraged him to go for the role
Charlie recently described hearing the news as ‘absolute hell’, adding: ‘I couldn’t process it, it was too big to take in.’
She admitted that she knew people who had died from pancreatic cancer and thought it was the end of her life as she recalled the devastating news.
Recalling when he found out, Adam said: As a farmer, you’re solving problems every day from the moment you wake up until you go to bed,’ he says. ‘But I didn’t have the skills or knowledge to fix this.
‘I was terrified. It was emotionally overwhelming – all I could do was deal with the facts and be as supportive as possible.’
Charlie has now returned to work in television as a location manager and is hoping to travel more with Adam.
The TV star is best known for his presenting role on Countryfile, which he has held since 2001 when Charlie – who is a location manager with the BBC – encouraged him to go for the role.
Countryfile airs weekly on BBC One every Sunday, reporting on rural, agricultural and environmental issues in the UK.