Believe it or not, it has now been a shocking 10 years since the tragic death of Big Brother star Jade Goody. The reality TV star, who was just 27-years-old when she passed away on 22nd March 2009, raised such awareness for cervical cancer that there was a huge spike in women getting smear tests.
As the 10th anniversary of her death approaches, her mum Jackiey Budden has appeared on This Morning earlier today to discuss what has been dubbed 'The Jade Goody Effect', and how the amount of women booking smear tests has begun to decline.
Speaking on Jade's legacy, Jackiey told Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, "That was just amazing, although Jade’s legacy it's like a kick in the teeth really because it’s gone down. It’s really dropped - a lot of people are not doing it like they did a couple of years ago.
"People think it’s embarrassing or they’re scared. It takes five minutes and I’ve never ever missed one. We really need to get the figure back up."
Jackiey spoke of the heartbreak of having to bury her daughter, "It’s not a thing that you do. You don’t expect to bury your daughter, and to watch her disintegrate was the worst. And as much as I miss her, I’m so pleased she is out of pain."
She added, "People say it gets easier over time, but it never gets easier. It’s the same every day. The hardest thing is, it doesn’t go away, and what I can’t get around, when she passed, I was the one who bathed, washed her and I get that flash back all the time."
Jackiey also opened up about her grandsons, Freddie and Bobby, who are cared for by their dad Jeff Brazier, "The boys are grand, I see them. They are doing really well. Jeff is grand, he’s a good dad."
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