Sky News presenter Kay Burley has shared the latest development in her sister’s cancer battle, almost a year after revealing her diagnosis. 

Burley initially confirmed younger sister Jacqueline was having chemotherapy treatment to combat the illness – which killed their mother and grandmother – in March 2024. 

The presenter, 64, has since confirmed Jacqueline is cancer-free in a social media post shared with followers on Tuesday.

Sharing a pH๏τo of the pair, she wrote: ‘The best of news. My baby sister Jacqueline is cancer free. 

‘She has been through hell and back for the last 18 months but today she was given the all clear by her oncologist. My heart swells for her and the family.’ 

Burley previously admitted she herself had an 80 percent chance of developing cancer after various blood relatives were diagnosed and eventually died with the disease.

Sky News presenter Kay Burley has shared the latest development in her sister Jacqueline’s cancer battle, almost a year after revealing her diagnosis

Burley lost her mother Kath to breast cancer in 1993, after her grandmother died of the same condition when Kath was just 18. Pictured: 15-year-old Kay (left) with her mother Kath before she died

Her mother Kath lost her battle with breast cancer in 1993, after her grandmother died of the same condition when Kath was just 18. 

‘My mum died when she was my age,’ she told Good Morning Britain in 2018. ‘My little boy was eight months old. It still makes me sad actually just to think about it.’

‘I remember her saying to me at the time, ”I’m going to die” and I said, ”I can’t live without you”. And she said, ‘You are going to have to darling and look after your daddy”.’ 

The presenter is now regularly checked for breast cancer and submits herself to a mammogram every six months. 

In 2017, Burley’s friend and Labour politician Dame Tessa Jowell died of a brain tumour at the age of 70, and a week later friend Rochelle died of the same condition. 

This was shortly followed by the death of her colleague Colin Brazier’s wife Jo, who died of breast cancer weeks after Rochelle. 

She continued: ‘My grandmother had died when my mum was 18 and my aunt died shortly after my mother and I’ve had lots of breast cancer scares.

‘When they approached me, it was a no brainer. I lost three girlfriends six weeks before, including the amazing Tessa Jowell.’

The presenter has since confirmed Jacqueline is cancer-free in a social media post shared with followers on Tuesday 

In December, Burley denied claims she is leaving her Sky News breakfast show after five years 

Read More ‘I don’t want to die of ignorance’: TV presenter Kay Burley reveals she has an ultrasound, MRI scan and mammogram EVERY YEAR after her mother and father both died young

Despite having an 80 percent risk of getting cancer herself, Burley said things look more positive for cancer patients with the advance of modern medicine.

She added: ‘Thankfully it’s a disease that you tend to live with rather than die from. It’s not a death sentence like it was for my mother 25 years ago.’

In December, Burley denied claims she is leaving her Sky News breakfast show after five years.

The presenter first joined the news channel 35 years ago and has since gone on to become one of the broadcaster’s highest-profile news anchors.

The TV host moved to the breakfast slot in October 2019, taking over from Sunrise host Sarah-Jane Mee.

Breakfast with Kay Burley was re-launched this year with a more conversational format featuring co-hosts Gareth Barlow and Mhari Aurora.

Reports suggested the veteran journalist was due to step down from the breakfast show as early as this week, according to ᴅᴇᴀᴅline.

But Burley told MailOnline such rumours were not true.

She said: ‘I don’t know where that comes from, but neither of them are true. I am off on the 19th [as] planned and then I am back on January 16.’

When asked about reports in the trade press that she was leaving her breakfast show, she added: ‘Not that I’m aware of, unless you are telling me something new.’

She said: ‘I am getting up at half past three in the morning… I’m back after I have been away to the Seychelles.’

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and affects more than two MILLION women a year

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Each year in the UK there are more than 55,000 new cases, and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women. In the US, it strikes 266,000 each year and kills 40,000. But what causes it and how can it be treated?

What is breast cancer?

It comes from a cancerous cell which develops in the lining of a duct or lobule in one of the breasts.

When the breast cancer has spread into surrounding tissue it is called ‘invasive’. Some people are diagnosed with ‘carcinoma in situ’, where no cancer cells have grown beyond the duct or lobule.

Most cases develop in those over the age of 50 but younger women are sometimes affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, though this is rare.

Staging indicates how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body.

The cancerous cells are graded from low, which means a slow growth, to high, which is fast-growing. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after they have first been treated.

What causes breast cancer?

A cancerous tumour starts from one abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. It is thought that something damages or alters certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiply ‘out of control’.

Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase the chance, such as genetics.

What are the symptoms of breast cancer?

The usual first symptom is a painless lump in the breast, although most are not cancerous and are fluid filled cysts, which are benign. 

The first place that breast cancer usually spreads to is the lymph nodes in the armpit. If this occurs you will develop a swelling or lump in an armpit.

How is breast cancer diagnosed?

Initial ᴀssessment: A doctor examines the breasts and armpits. They may do tests such as a mammography, a special x-ray of the breast tissue which can indicate the possibility of tumours.Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer.

If you are confirmed to have breast cancer, further tests may be needed to ᴀssess if it has spread. For example, blood tests, an ultrasound scan of the liver or a chest X-ray.

How is breast cancer treated?

Treatment options which may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Often a combination of two or more of these treatments are used.

Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or the removal of the affected breast depending on the size of the tumour.Radiotherapy: A treatment which uses high energy beams of radiation focused on cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells, or stops them from multiplying. It is mainly used in addition to surgery.Chemotherapy: A treatment of cancer by using anti-cancer drugs which kill cancer cells, or stop them from multiplying.Hormone treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the ‘female’ hormone oestrogen, which can stimulate the cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments which reduce the level of these hormones, or prevent them from working, are commonly used in people with breast cancer.

How successful is treatment?

The outlook is best in those who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small, and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumour in an early stage may then give a good chance of cure.

The routine mammography offered to women between the ages of 50 and 71 means more breast cancers are being diagnosed and treated at an early stage.

For more information visit breastcancernow.org or call its free helpline on 0808 800 6000