ANNA Bligh was like any other guest at a high powered luncheon, holding her own alongside TV stars, business leaders and socialites.
But, despite her casual appearance, Bligh was personally celebrating a milestone, having beaten cancer and her brave appearance showing off her bald head in the latest issue of Australian Women’s Weekly.
“I don’t want anyone to think, ‘Oh, she’s been so brave’,” the former Queensland premier tells the magazine, in stores Thursday, of her battle with Non-hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“I had to find a lot of resilience, but so does everyone. At the time of my diagnosis, I was 52 years old. I felt like I was in the prime of my life. So it was absolutely terrifying and there were lots of tears and I found it very hard to talk about it. I wouldn’t want anyoneto think I shrugged it off and thought, okay, no problem, I’ll beat this.”
Bligh was a guest of honour at the Women’s Weekly 80th birthday lunch at Apollo in Potts Point, mingling with the likes of Governor-general Quintin Bryce, Samantha Armytage, Lisa Wilkinson, Leigh Sales and Kerri-Anne Kennerley.
She wore black pants, a crisp white jacket and a wig with her trademark short brown hair.
Bligh shaved her head during chemotherapy before she went bald from the treatment, making a moment of it by inviting friends and family and sharing a bottle of champagne.
Anna Bligh says she was going for a Sinead O’Connor or Ellen Ripley look post-chemotherapy. Pic: Australian Women’s Weekly (out Thursday)
She left the salon “feeling like an egghead. but feeling very loved. There’s something weirdly wonderful about a cancer diagnosis that seems to bring out the best in everyone.”
AWW editor in chief Helen McCabe said she was impressed by the way Bligh had dealt with her battle with cancer.
“She was extraordinary, incredibly cheerful and upbeat and very pleased to be there,” McCabe said.
Ms Bligh, 53, said it was a tough decision to open up about her battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma - but she has no regrets.
Anna Bligh has opened up to the Australian Women’s Weekly, laying bare her fears and courage as she battles cancer. Issue out Thursday.
``I’ve just been through a very gruelling experience with chemotherapy and I guess I just wanted to be honest about what that was like,’’ she told Nine News.
``It was a big decision to be part of it and a very difficult decision for me.’’
Ms Bligh revealed her diagnosis in June. She had undergone surgery to remove a pea-size lump on her face two days after flying to Brisbane to front Queensland’s health payroll inquiry in May.
She said she dreaded to think what would have happened if she didn’t ask about the lump when visiting her GP for a niggling foot injury in late March.
Ms Bligh said she hoped her story would encourage others to express any health concerns to their own GP.
``Having lived with cancer now I know a little bit about what it’s like and I just say to anybody - if you’ve got anything you’re worried about, any lump or bump, go get it checked out,’’ she said.
A “before” shot from the Australian Women’s Weekly feature, out on Thursday.
In the Weekly interview, Ms Bligh - who led Queensland from 2007-12 and steered the state through the devastating floods of 2010-11 - said being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma had been her hardest battle so far.
“Being diagnosed with cancer was not something I took in my stride,” she said.
“I was knocked for six.
“The idea that cancer is a battle and you can win it by being a strong person, that’s not necessarily true.
“There are people who are a lot stronger than me, who are fighting very hard, and they are in a situation that is much scarier than mine.”
World famous for shedding tears during the flood disaster, Ms Bligh is once again front and centre in the telling interview.
However Queensland’s first female premier has kept her sense of humour throughout her ordeal, even when facing the emotional task of shaving her head.
“I was hoping for something close to Sinead O’Connor, or Sigourney Weaver’s character in Alien3, both of whom made bald look sexy,” she said. Instead, she said, she was left “looking like an egghead, but feeling very loved”.
“There’s something weirdly wonderful about a cancer diagnosis that seems to bring out the best in everyone,” she said.
