Trevor Sorbie, 75, reveals he has been diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer as celebrity hairdresser reveals he has just ‘weeks to live’
Hairdresser to the stars Trevor Sorbie has revealed he has terminal bowel cancer and has only weeks to live.
Trevor, 75, appeared with his wife Carole on Wednesday morning and revealed the sad news, saying he found out in June that he has around six months left.
He said: ‘I lost a lot of blood one night and was unusually disturbed, so I went to hospital. They told me I had colon cancer and I had a mini panic attack.
‘I looked at Carole and she looked at me, we were both speechless, I didn’t know what to say. So I went and had a big gin and tonic.”
It then spread to his liver and he was in surgery for six and a half hours. He came back and had another six and a half hour operation.
Trevor Sorbie, 75, revealed on Wednesday Morning that he has been diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer, while a celebrity hairdresser reveals he has only ‘weeks to live’
Appearing on This Morning alongside his wife Carol, Trevor revealed the sad news, saying he found out in June that he still has around six months to go.
Trevor is the creator of the wedge hairstyle and four-time winner of the British Hairdresser of the Year. He was appointed MBE in 2004 (pictured in 1994)
Carole said Trevor’s last scan was in September when they realized ‘no treatment is going to work’ because the lump is now too big and too close to a major blood vessel.
Trevor fears he might not make it to Christmas but is determined to stay positive.
Until two weeks ago he went to work two days a week because it is ‘his medicine and my life’.
He told Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard: ‘I never wake up thinking, “Oh poor me, I have cancer” or feeling sorry for myself.
‘I have worked passionately for sixty years to exceed my wildest dreams. When I go in, it’s my staff, I’ve had them for 30 years, I’m just one of the team.
‘A nurse came in recently to assess me and when I asked, “Should I make Christmas?” She said, “I don’t know Trevor.”
‘I said, “I’ll damn well do that.” The brain rules the body. The heart also plays a major role, but that is the engine.’
Trevor said he has found strength in his own charity My Wig Hair, which teaches hairdressers how to cut wigs to look like real hair.
The charity was created after the hairdresser was involved in helping his brother’s wife create a wig that resembled real hair as she battled bone cancer.
Trevor announced the sad news, saying he found out in June that he has about six months to live
He said: ‘I have a charity and I have helped a lot of women through cancer by cutting wigs for them. People deal with it in different ways.
‘There is no one way, no right way, no wrong way. However, it is that person who has to deal with it. If you’re doing this right (the brain) and it’s easy for me to say, then do it right.
‘You can fight this. Doctors have even said that you are breaking medical science, that you shouldn’t be here right now. Last night we went out and had a lovely meal.’
Trevor is the creator of the wedge hairstyle and four-time winner of the British Hairdresser of the Year. In 2004 he was appointed MBE.
The hairdresser has also regularly appeared on daytime shows such as This Morning and The Wright Stuff, giving advice or makeovers.
Of his statement styles of the ’70s and ’80s, Trevor admitted: ‘At that moment you have no idea you’re creating something groundbreaking’
Following his emotional interview, viewers took to X, formerly Twitter, to praise him for his bravery and urged him to ‘keep fighting’.
They wrote: ‘sending hugs to Trevor and his wife xx’
‘what a man! a real true legacy of a man! & the two of them, this team! Carole and Trevor are just the dream team. two great people. Trevor, we love you. & we will never forget it. thank you thank you thank you for your work, your talents, that is to say: that “wedge” and most importantly, your beautiful smile’.
‘So nice to see you today Trevor, great memories of the makeovers of the past. By being on the show you have undoubtedly helped others. Sending lots of love to you and your lovely wife. X’
“Honestly, God bless Trevor. I don’t know how Ben and Kat kept it together. What a beautiful man and it’s so sad that he will soon be gone. God bless.
‘What an emotional/uplifting interview. What an incredible man, keep fighting Trevor.”
Following his emotional interview, viewers took to X, formerly Twitter, to praise him for his bravery and urged him to ‘keep fighting’.
Speaking about how she’s feeling, Carole said: ‘It’s totally overwhelming most days, but I draw my strength from this man – he’s guiding me through a good death – living a good life and dying a good death – and up until then I had I didn’t do that’ We haven’t talked about that yet, but what we do every day now is give thanks for every day we have and wake up together and it’s all simple things.
‘Our little dog is pure medicine, we have a wonderful family and we are supported by the entire Trevor Sorbie family… and we are all guided by Trevor.
She added: “I was struggling and crying a lot but Trevor and my son encouraged me to go to counseling and I’ve actually started doing some grief counseling which I didn’t know you could do before and they’re going to guide me through it and hold my hand and for up to two years, or however long it takes after the event, so I feel very supported and feel fortunate to have that support… but more so from Trevor than anyone else, because he’s incredible.’
Looking back on his incredible career, Trevor revealed that he didn’t originally set out to become a hairdresser.
He said, ‘I wanted to be an artist. But I was bullied at school and my father was a hairdresser, and he said: come to the salon… and I found hairdressing easy! I was cutting people’s hair within three months, so I was still quite creative.’
Speaking about his statement styles of the ’70s and ’80s, Trevor admitted: ‘At that moment you have no idea that you’re creating something groundbreaking. You just do what you feel comes naturally to you. I mean, I invented scrunch drying by accident, to speed up the process a bit.”