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Joan Collins has revealed her late sister Jackie Collins didn’t have a mammogram and thought a lump in her breast would just ‘go away’.
The bestselling author died of breast cancer in 2015 at the age of 77 and chose to keep her battle with the disease private for years.
Joan, 90, who only found out her sister was ill six weeks before her death, discussed her death on Thursday’s episode of Loose Women.
She said: “I lost my mother and sister Jacqui to breast cancer and several friends. My sister Jacqui said to me six weeks before she died, “I have stage 4.”
“I said, ‘Didn’t you get mammograms like I told you to?’
Candid: Joan Collins has revealed her late sister Jackie Collins didn’t have a mammogram and thought a lump on her breast would just ‘go away’
Family: The bestselling author died of breast cancer in 2015 at the age of 77 and chose to keep her battle with the disease private for years (Joan and Jackie in their last photo together)
She said, “No, I didn’t want them, I felt this lump and thought it would go away.” ‘
Shortly before her death, Jackie explained that she had not told her famous older sister about her illness sooner because she had not wanted to burden her.
“I just felt like she didn’t need it in her life. “She’s very positive and very social, but I’m not sure how strong she is, so I didn’t want to burden her with it,” she told People.
Jackie also said her sister was ‘very shocked’ after being told how serious the disease was.
‘She had no idea. But she was great. We were emotional,” she said.
Following news of the author’s death, a spokesperson for her family said: ‘It is with enormous sadness that we announce the death of our beautiful, dynamic and unique mother, Jackie Collins, who died today from breast cancer.
“She lived a wonderfully full life and was adored by her family, friends and the millions of readers she entertained for more than forty years.
‘She was a true inspiration, a pioneer for women in fiction and a creative force. She will live on in her characters, but we already miss her beyond words.’
Joan revealed: ‘I said, ‘Haven’t you had mammograms like I told you?’
She said, “No, I didn’t want them, I felt this lump and thought it would go away”‘ (pictured together in 2015)
Joan also spoke about her father Joseph during the interview, saying he gave her advice on dealing with predatory men.
She said: ‘I had a father, he was a theater agent. He told me the dangers of the profession
“He told me that young beautiful girls were meat for predatory older producers, and that directors and even actors were like that.
“I said, ‘Daddy, what should I do?’ And he said, ‘You shouldn’t let them get too close to you, and if they do, you laugh at them. When you make fun of someone, you destroy his ego.”