CELEBRITY Big Brother star Trisha Goddard has opened up about a painful side effect of living with incurable stage four cancer.
The talkshow host, 67, said she is experiencing a condition causing reduced blood flow to the fingers and toes.
It can sometimes be a side effect of chemotherapy and can change the colour of the skin and causes burning or numbness.
shared a photo of her bright red fingers and explained that her Raynaud’s has worsened since being on chemo the last year.
She wrote: “Sheesh... Anybody else dealing with pesky Raynaud’s?
“If you do, here’s what happens when you forget to wear gloves when buying frozen food, and then go about putting it in your freezer, duh!
“Had it mildly for years, but over a year of infusions and chemo every three weeks has ramped up my Raynaud’s quite a bit. Ouch!
“Here’s herself waiting for the painful fingers to go bright red, then blue, then icily grey/white before they eventually go back to normal.”;;
Trisha explained that she’s learnt to adjust her lifestyle around the condition – from wearing gloves to using a napkin to hold a cold glass.
She continued: “Over the years, I’ve learned to adapt; for instance, I wear gloves while driving, so my car’s air conditioning doesn’t trigger Raynaud’s in my fingers.
“When I have a cold drink, I use a napkin to hold the glass and so on.
“BUT every so often I forget; the burning sensation starts and my fingers go painfully numb while they turn the colours of the Union Jack.”;;
Trisha then added some further details about the syndrome to help inform her followers.
“Bit of info below folks,”;; she concluded.
“Chemotherapy can induce or exacerbate Raynaud’s phenomenon, a condition where blood vessels in the fingers and toes temporarily narrow in response to cold or stress, leading to reduced blood flow.
“This condition can manifest as skin color changes (white, blue, red), numbness, and pain in the affected areas.
“While often temporary and resolving after chemotherapy, it’s important to manage and be aware of this side effect.”;;
It comes just a month after Trisha opened up about living with stage four cancer in the famous CBB house.
Trisha underwent a round of chemotherapy and flew to the UK from her home in Connecticut just 24 hours later to move into the CBB house.
Speaking about the process of making sure she was fit and well for the programme, she told theMailOnline: “I went to the infusion centre on April 1. I call it my spa room.
“I had a soupcon of chemo and targeted hormone therapy, one little bag after the other. I have a port catheter [in her chest] and I get plugged in.
“Then thenextday I flew over to the UK. I had to wear compression garments – tights and a sleeve on my arm – and I took disinfectant wipes for the seats, tables, armrest and loo.
“My oncologist is brilliant, a rock star, and so sweet. He said, ‘I’m going to help you do this because your message [of hope] is so great.”;;’
Trisha then underwent an ultrasound scan upon touching down inEnglandto ensure she was well and and to check that she had not developed a deep vein thrombosis.
In order tocomfortable, Trisha was afforded a number of luxuries.
She originally thought she would be given a bed with a curtain in the main bedroom but was shocked to discover she had been given her own private suite.
Trisha told the Mail: “I thought I was going to get – ooh – a bed with a curtain but amazingly they decided I should have my own bedroom, loo and bathroom which I genuinely wasn’t expecting.
“I was blown away by that. And they gave me my own low-fat food in a little fridge.
“I missed out on not being in the main bedroom – I got a bit of FOMO.”;;
She also opened up on some of the medication she was taking during her stay in Britain’s most famous house.
Trisha added: “I had to take poo powder three times a day. It’s [constipation] one of the side-effects of chemo.
“I also had a prescribed dose of calcium, and so many people will say they’re tired with chemo. Not moi! I take Ritalin [a stimulant typically prescribed for ADHD].
“It stops exhaustion. This is what upsets me: there are so many people with cancer, so many suffering so much they can’t function, but side-effects can be treated.
“[For nausea] I do a super mild wibbly-wobbly workout with weights that helps my balance. The hospital doesn’t even need to give me anti-nausea meds.”;;
Trisha was evicted from the CBB house in the show’s second week, becoming the second contestant to be evicted.
