‘He’s fighting for his life’: Charlotte Church reveals her stepfather James, 53, is suffering from a rare terminal illness and may have only six months to live
Charlotte Church has revealed that her step-dad is terminally ill and doctors have given him six months to live.
Making the heartbreaking admission on her new Channel 4 documentary, Charlotte Church: My Family and Me, which is set to air on October 17, the singer states that her stepfather James, 53, suffers from a rare terminal illness AL amyloidosis – which is akin to blood cancer.
An emotional Charlotte reveals, 33, reveals: ‘It’s absolutely terrifying the idea of not having him around. I rely on him for so much, he’s my buddy, my absolute best friend and has been for years.’
‘Fighting for his life’: Charlotte Church, 33, has revealed that her step-dad James, 53, is terminally ill and doctors have given him six months to live
James is suffering from a condition called AL amyloidosis which occurs when a person produces abnormal protein fibres, which in return causes serious damage to organs.
Speaking about the condition himself, James bravely noted: ‘Time is not on my side. The disease I have is very rare, only one in eight million people have it. It’s called AL amyloidosis. The worst scenario is I could only have six months, so I’m in a horrible position.’
Discussing his treatment, Charlotte stated: ‘He’s on chemotherapy and to be honest he’ll be on it until he dies. He’s on his third round. He has had breaks because it is tough going but he is a strong as an ox.’
‘Absolutely terrifying’: The singer states that James (L), suffers from a rare terminal illness AL amyloidosis – which is akin to blood cancer. Pictured with her mother Maria Cooper (R)
Tragic: James is suffering from a condition called AL amyloidosis which occurs when a person produces abnormal protein fibres, which in return causes serious damage to organs
Speaking about the heartbreaking situation further, the Welsh songstress continued: ‘It’s just horrendous that he’s got it at this age, he’s still a relatively young man. But he will fight this for as long as he can.
‘He’s got it quite advanced in his heart because he wasn’t diagnosed for quite a long time, it’s not great.’
The former child star has never really known her biological dad, and was brought up by James and adopted by him in 1999.
Charlotte went on to made the heartbreaking realisation: ‘If you look at the survival rates, 50% of patients who start chemotherapy die in the first six months. So he is massively fighting for his life right now, basically.’
‘In a horrible position’: Speaking about the condition, James bravely noted: ‘Time is not on my side. The disease I have is very rare, only one in eight million people have it’ (Pictured 2000)
Family: The former child star has never really known her biological dad, and was brought up by James and adopted by him in 1999
Noting that there is no cure and that the chemo will one day stop working, Charlotte proved optimistic, stating: ‘He’s outliving what doctors thought was possible’
‘I guess essentially everyone is scared of death, but if we can embrace it more as a life process, to see it as the next great adventure, that’s the way I try and deal with it.’
Gushing previously about her stepfather James to The Guardian, Charlotte gushed: ‘ James is a phenomenal father and my earliest memory of him is seeing him walk towards me to meet my mum when I was sitting on top of a post box.
‘Family life was loud, it was noisy, it was vivacious, but they were quite strict. They wouldn’t take no messing and they were salt of the earth people, sort of normal but pretty rough.’
James’ story will be told in full on Charlotte Church: My Family and Me which premiere on October 17 on Channel 4.
Heartbreak: James’ story will be told in full on Charlotte Church: My Family and Me which premiere on October 17 on Channel 4 (Pictured 2004)