Harry Connick Jr’s wife Jill Goodacre has been battling breast cancer for five years.
The former Victoria’s Secret model made the reveal in People magazine where she said a lump was spotted during a sonogram causing her to have two back-to-back surgeries.
Her talk show host husband struggled with the news: ‘I was scared I was going to lose her, absolutely. I wasn’t going to let her see that, but I was.’
One of the hardest thing for the mother-of-three to cope with has been the weight from the Tamoxifen drug she’s had to take. ‘I’ve always been a pretty fit person, and so to be just rounder and heavier and not to really be able to do much about it — that’s been hard. It’s taken a lot out of my self-confidence,’ said Jill.
Her battle: Harry Connick Jr’s wife Jill Goodacre has been battling breast cancer for five years. The former Sports Illustrated made the reveal in People magazine where she said a lump was spotted during a sonogram. Seen in May
Her look: The star was a top model in teh 1990s who worked for Victoria’s Secret
Her 1988 Cosmopolitan cover
In October 2012 Goodacre had a routine annual mammogram. The results were fine.
But then she was told to get a sonogram as well because she had ‘dense breasts.’
During the sonogram ‘something was detected’ and Jill was asked to undergo a biopsy.
The results were not great: the bikini model had Stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma.
‘I was scared I was going to lose her, absolutely. I wasn’t going to let her see that, but I was.
‘I know from losing my mom that the worst can happen. She’s my best friend, and I really don’t know what I would do without her,’ said the crooner.
Then: She appeared as herself on Friends in a 1994 episode titled The One With The Blackou
Harry, 50, lost his mother to ovarian cancer when he was only 13-years-old.
Telling their kids was hard. Together the couple has Georgia, 21, Sara Kate, 20, and Charlotte, 15. ‘It broke my heart,’ said Jill.
She immediately needed a lumpectomy. Radiation would come next, though she was able to skip chemotherapy. ‘The lumpectomy didn’t come back with clean margins,’ she said. The site explained that pathology tests showed she also had ‘extensive ductal carcinoma in situ, a less invasive form of the disease.’
She had to go in for a second surgery the very next day.
Family: Together the couple has Georgia, 21, Sara Kate, 20, and Charlotte, 15. Here they are seen with two of their daughters in April
‘And then radiation absolutely wiped me out,’ added Jill.
But the worst part has been taking Tamoxifen or five years.
Harry said it’s been hard for her to look for full.
‘It’s a part of how the cancer and the treatment impacted her, and it was a real issue, even though she will always be the most beautiful woman in the world,’ said her husband.
Young love: The model and the musician are seen here in 1991 when they were first dating
Romantic: On the show, Harry tells his wife: ‘All I wanted to do was grow old with you and have as many years as possible as I could with you.’ Jill responds with: ‘You always used to say that: “I just want to grow old with you.”‘ Seen in 2005
They waited so long to tell the world because they didn’t want to ‘somehow jinx it,’ she told People.
‘But we wanted to be well on the other side of things before we told everybody. The doctors all say that after the five-year mark, things look optimistic, so we’re starting to feel pretty good,’ she added.
‘I’ll always be a little nervous, always having to get checked, always hoping it doesn’t come back.’
Jill will be seen on her husband’s talk show Harry on Thursday discussing her cancer diagnosis more.
His work: Connick Jr was a judge on American Idol with Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban. Now he has his own talk show called Harry
On the show, which People got an exclusive look at, Harry tells his wife: ‘All I wanted to do was grow old with you and have as many years as possible as I could with you.’
Jill responds with: ‘You always used to say that: “I just want to grow old with you.”‘
‘It’s true. I wanted to know what you would look like older. … I made the right decision,’ he added.
Texas native Jill married Harry in 1994 when they were both at the top of their careers.
She was a top model who worked for Victoria’s Secret and appeared on the cover of Cosmopolitan. And she appeared as herself on Friends in a 1994 episode titled The One With The Blackout.
Harry has sold over 28 million records and appeared in movies such as Hope Floats with Sandra Bullock.
Connick Jr was a judge on American Idol with Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban. Now he has his own talk show called Harry.