British author Sophie Kinsella says she is receiving treatment for a form of aggressive brain cancer known as glioblastoma.
Kinsella, whose real name is Madeleine Sophie Wickham, is widely known for her best-selling “Shopaholic” book series and other works including “Can You Keep a Secret?” Her most recent novel, “The Burnout,” was released in October 2023. The first two books of the “Shopaholic” series were adapted into the 2009 movie “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” starring Isla Fisher.
The writer, 54, said in a Facebook post Wednesday that she was diagnosed at the end of 2022 but did not immediately share the news as she wanted to ensure her children “were able to hear and process the news in privacy and adapt to our ‘new normal.’”
The author said she had wanted to share a health update “for a long time” but had been “waiting for the strength to do so.”
Kinsella said she has been receiving care at a London hospital and had undergone successful surgery, and that radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment is ongoing. She said she is feeling “generally very well,” but fatigued — before joking that her memory is now “even worse than it was before!”
Glioblastoma is an aggressive cancer that is the most common of all malignant brain tumors. According to the American Brain Tumor Association, an average of more than 12,000 glioblastoma cases are diagnosed each year in the United States.
Kinsella has sold over 45 million copies of her books in more than 60 countries, according to her website. Her works, which typically feature likable, flawed heroines who navigate modern challenges and try to do the right thing, have been translated into over 40 languages.
In an interview with The Post in 2012, Kinsella said she aimed to “write heroines that we relate to,” adding that while she likes to write “satisfying” endings, she also tries “to leave heroines in a position where the future isn’t all wrapped up.”
Book reviewers for The Post have previously named her works as among the “best feel-good” books of the year, or praised her “trademark Brit wit,” “signature warmth” and “touch of real wisdom.”
Glioblastomas are malignant grade 4 tumors, the American Brain Tumor Association says, adding that “glioblastomas are diffusely infiltrative and invade nearby regions of the brain.” They are hard to treat because they grow so fast, invading nearby brain tissue — making 100 percent removal “nearly impossible,” the association says, adding that the blood-brain barrier can prevent certain treatments being able to reach the tumor.
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons describes glioblastoma as “a devastating brain cancer that can result in death in six months or less, if untreated,” while the American Brain Tumor Association says five-year relative survival rates for adults aged 40 and above with glioblastoma is 5.6 percent.
Symptoms vary depending on the location of the tumor, but can include headaches, blurred vision, vomiting, loss of appetitive, and changes in mood and ability to think and learn.
Prominent figures who died of glioblastoma include Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Beau Biden, the son of President Biden, and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.).
Kinsella and thanked “wonderful” medical staff for their care.
“To everyone who is suffering from cancer in any form I send love and best wishes, as well as to those who support them,” she said in her Facebook update. “It can feel very lonely and scary to have a tough diagnosis, and the support and care of those around you means more than words can say.”