Sky Sports News presenter Jo Wilson has opened up on receiving a second, incorrect, cancer diagnosis three years after she was given the all-clear following a year-long battle with stage 3 cervical cancer.
The broadcaster, 41, had been vocal about her journey with the disease, which saw her diagnosed after receiving a routine smear test in June 2022, and later undergo life-saving radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment.
Wilson later produced a documentary on footballing figures who had similarly suffered with cancer, Football, Cancer and Me, which was released in November 2025.
But in a touching Instagram post, Wilson revealed that this year she had struggled after initially being told that cancer had returned.
‘A little life update, please read until the end (red heart emoji),’ she began.
Sky Sports News presenter Jo Wilson has revealed that she was incorrectly diagnosed with cancer a second time
While the broadcaster revealed that her relief is ‘indescribable’, she spoke up about the ’emotional toll’ of the misdiagnosis on Instagram
‘In February, after my three-year scan, I was told my cancer had returned in a lymph node. I couldn’t believe it – it felt like my whole world had crumbled all over again.
‘But after being referred to the high-dose radiotherapy team, one consultant questioned whether the diagnosis was actually correct. What followed were five months of tests, scans, waiting and uncertainty before, last week, I finally got the news I’d been desperately hoping for: it wasn’t cancer after all. The lymph node is now thought to be a benign neuroma – a cluster of nerves that was likely inflamed at the time of my original scan.
‘The relief was indescribable, but so too is the emotional toll from the last five months, believing – then not knowing if my cancer had returned. Living with that uncertainty was incredibly hard. On the outside, life carried on – I worked, was being a mum, played (lots of) padel, spent time with friends and family, and smiled for photos. But underneath it all, I was carrying something very heavy, and there were times I found myself in some very dark places.
‘So why am I sharing this?
‘Firstly, because we often talk about being “cancer free”, but I’m not sure any of us ever truly feel free of it. The fear of recurrence can stay with you long after treatment ends, and I think it’s important we talk about that reality. If you’re someone living beyond a cancer diagnosis, please know you’re not alone.
‘Secondly, because social media is never the full picture. The last few months on here have probably looked like lots of happy moments, lovely places and time with people I love – and those moments were all real. But they existed alongside this. Instagram is a highlight reel, not the whole story.
‘And finally, because we never really know what someone else is carrying. A friend, a colleague, the person serving you coffee or standing next to you in the supermarket – they could be fighting a battle you know nothing about.
‘So this is simply a reminder to be kind. Always (red heart emoji). Thank you to my incredible support network, you know who you are.’
In response to the post, Wilson received warm words of support from colleagues including Emma Paton, Hayley McQueen, Izzy Christiansen and Emma Saunders, who herself was diagnosed with thyroid cancer before suffering serious brain infection encephalitis last year.
Wilson revealed in her documentary that her life had changed ‘in an instant’ with her 2022 diagnosis, which came shortly after the birth of her daughter Mabel.
‘It hit me like a truck,’ she said. ‘I did wonder if I’m going to die. I’d prepared myself for the worst, I think you have to.
‘I actually didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t want to put it on anyone. If one person can see this and make a phone call to the doctor because something doesn’t feel right, then it’s worth talking about.’
Wilson shared pictures while undergoing the tests necessary to confirm she is cancer-free
A permanent fixture at Sky Sports News, Wilson also produced a documentary, Football, Cancer and Me
The intensity of the treatment which followed included five weeks of daily radiotherapy, weekly chemotherapy and three days of invasive internal brachytherapy.
She explained how the hardest moments came when treatment forced her to be separated from her daughter for the first time, describing those three days in hospital as the darkest period of her illness.
Wilson, who lives in the Cotswolds with her partner of nine years Dan, later celebrated being told there was ‘no evidence of disease’ in March 2023 with a bottle of champagne and a jubilant post on social media.
Wilson, who hails from Perth in Scotland, graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University with a Masters in journalism in 2011, beginning as a graduate trainee at Sky Sports News that same year.
She later became a sub-editor and then a co-producer before making her screen debut on the channel in 2015.
