Janey Godley feels ‘guilty’ that she has cancer

The 61-year-old is currently fighting ovarian cancer after being diagnosed in November last year during her comedy tour.

The Glasgow funnywoman opened up about her illness in an exclusive interview with The Glasgow Times in an effort to raise awareness of the disease which has been branded a ‘silent killer’.

It comes after she underwent a hysterectomy in January which revealed her stage three cancer had spread and has since been undergoing chemotherapy to beat it.

Now while recovering at home she admitted how hard the journey has been both physically and mentally as she urges others to talk about how they feel. 

Janey said: “Sometimes I’m so exhausted I just think if I am going to die then make it today because I am so too tired to keep going.

“I don’t have a positive attitude all the time and that’s okay, I don't need to always greet the world with sunshine.

“Some days I think everything will be okay, and others I'm picking my funeral music.

“The most surprising thing about having cancer for me, is how open I have been about it emotionally.

“It is so important to talk about how you feel, the good and the bad, I went to a really really dark place with it - but talking helps me feel better.

“I feel guilty that I brought cancer into my family's life, which is a weird feeling.

“I know it isn’t my fault, but you can’t help but to feel like you have thrown this big spanner into the works.

“My family are very supportive though, they just tell me to shut up and want me to feel better.

“The mood swings are up and down, I am hopeful I will beat it, there’s more people living with cancer now than dying from it.”

Janey has been candid with her cancer experience

Now Janey is begging women ‘don’t die of embarrassment, talk about your private parts’.

The social media star said the world has made too much money objectifying women's bodies for ladies to be too embarrassed to discuss them.

She wants to stop shame from silencing people raising concerns around the health of their intimate areas.

Janey said: “Women shouldn’t feel embarrassed to talk about their private parts, the world has made so much money out of taking pictures of them for years.

“Stop being embarrassed by your private parts, talk about your fa***, do not die of embarrassment. 

“We need to keep discussing it and talking about cancer, we need to encourage each other to spot the symptoms and go for smear tests.

“You have every right to talk about your health and concerns.”

An astounding 90% of women don't know the four main symptoms of ovarian cancer, according to Ovarian Cancer Action.

This includes persistent stomach pain, persistent bloating, difficulty eating, feeling full more quickly, and needing to pee more frequently.

These were the symptoms Janey noticed but put them to the back of her mind as she went on tour.

It wasn’t until she spotted a Tweet from TV presenter Julia Bradbury, highlighting the symptoms of ovarian cancer, that it ‘came together’ and she went to the GP.

Now she hopes to be the same warning sign for other women by being extremely open and candid about her own experience.

Janey said: “I should have gone to the doctors at the beginning of my tour, I just thought maybe I’m just fat, maybe I’m just bloated, you don’t think it is cancer.

“It is just so important to pay attention to your body and any symptoms you get, don’t put anything off.

“They are so varied and easily confused by bowel problems or wind, women can easily dismiss them.

“I had thought this will be fine but you just don’t know, you should never put your employment ahead of your health.

“Women have to be really proactive with anything to do with their reproductive organs in general, ask you GP for a blood test and check for ovarian cancer.”

The brave comic has her ‘fingers crossed’ that her ovarian cancer will be gone by May 17th if her treatment goes well.

She has plans to travel America by train with daughter, Ashley Storrie, if she gets that ‘all clear’ green light later this year.

Her new book ‘Nothing Left Unsaid’, which is a ‘love letter’ to her mother, also comes out this May’.