'We're doing OK': New treatment for Dame Jools

Last year, the Topp Twins revealed they had both been diagnosed with breast cancer, and now Dame Lynda has given an update on their treatments.

Speaking on the AM show with host Ryan Bridge, the beloved Kiwi entertainer said, “We’re both doing okay, like my mum says: ‘You can’t kill a weed.'"

“We’re both dealing with issues. Jools is on a new treatment, it’s not chemo, it’s something a bit newer and exciting, so she’s dealing with that.”

While she did not share any more information about the treatment, the star revealed in an interview with The New Zealand Herald last year, that Dame Jools’ cancer had metastasized and she is on a programme where she takes pills and has monthly injections.

Meanwhile, Dame Lynda continues with her own cancer battle, and told Bridge she had to stop her chemotherapy treatment as an additional diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy - nerve damage caused by chemo - was making the treatment unsustainable.

She said it’s “just something you have to deal with each day” adding, “but we’re happy, we’re alive and we’re very excited”.

The Topp Twins revealed their cancer diagnosis in March last year in an exclusive interview with TVNZ’s current affairs programme Sunday. 

Appearing on the show, the sisters shared that Dame Jools was first to be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 at the age of 48.

Dame Jools endured gruelling chemotherapy and the removal of her left breast which enabled her to recover.

However, in 2021 she began to feel unwell again and shortly after, her sister found out she too had breast cancer. 

The diagnosis came at the peak of New Zealand’s Covid-19 battle, meaning they were forced to be apart in order to protect each other.

“So, all of a sudden, boom. In Covid, I can’t be with Jools. I came out of the office at St George’s Hospital and I sat in the car. I just burst into tears,” Dame Lynda shared with Sunday.

“I don’t know what’s harder - having cancer or not having Jools here."

Dame Lynda was diagnosed with Grade 3 invasive breast cancer in December 2021. She underwent a double mastectomy and endured a harrowing six months of intensive chemotherapy.

Since revealing their diagnosis, Dame Lynda has made multiple media appearances, however Dame Jools continues her battle behind closed doors.

The pair became Kiwi television staples with their show The Topp Twins, where they played characters Camp Mother and Camp Leader, and Ken and Ken.

In 2018, they were made Dame Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to entertainment.