Angie Best has admitted she no longer wants to be seen in public after suffering a painful acne breakout caused by her ongoing cancer treatment.
The 73-year-old former model — who was previously married to late Manchester United legend George Best and is the mother of TV personality Calum Best — recently stunned fans when it was revealed she was battling colon cancer.
Angie has since travelled to Switzerland to undergo an alternative treatment known as mistletoe therapy, which uses extracts from the European mistletoe plant and is believed by some practitioners to help stimulate the immune system and reduce the side effects of chemotherapy.
But while the treatment is helping her fight the disease, Angie admitted the physical side effects have been emotionally difficult.
Speaking candidly in a video shared on Facebook, she revealed she is currently struggling with acne breakouts, swollen lips and painful mouth ulcers — all side effects that can be triggered by chemotherapy and other cancer treatments.
She confessed: “I’ve got spots I’ve never had in my life. It’s bad enough with the chemo that makes you feel like total rat**** all the time but then you’ve got the side effects like the ulcers and stuff.”
Looking at her skin has left her feeling deeply demoralised, she admitted.
“When you look at your skin and you go holy s**t, what happened? It’s so demoralising,” Angie said. “I’m as vain as the next person and we all are so don’t tell me you’re not and don’t tell me I shouldn’t worry about my looks. Sod that. Yes I should!”
The former model added that the changes to her appearance have made her reluctant to step outside.
“I won’t go out in public, I don’t want anyone to see me looking like twenty miles of bad road.”
Despite the difficult side effects, Angie revealed there has been encouraging progress in her cancer battle.
She recently met with her oncologist, who told her the treatment had already removed a large portion of the cancer.
“I went to see my oncologist yesterday and he said, ‘Ange, you’ve done amazing. In four sessions we’ve got rid of 80 per cent of your cancer which is phenomenal.’”
However, doctors initially recommended four additional sessions of treatment — something Angie was not entirely convinced about.
“I was thrilled but he said, ‘you have to come back for another four sessions.’ If four got rid of 80 per cent, why do I need four more? I said, ‘let’s do two’ and he said, ‘OK’.”
She admitted she had secretly hoped the latest appointment would bring even better news.
“I was hoping I’d walk in and he’d say, ‘Ange, it’s all gone, you’re cancer free.’ I had that in my head for a week — ‘Ange, you’re cancer free.’ But then I would look at my face and say, ‘holy s**t no you’re not.’”
Thanking her followers for their support, Angie ended the video on an emotional note, telling fans how much their messages have meant during such a difficult time.
“Your support means the world and I love you. Sorry for moaning, I’m just feeling a bit sorry for myself.”
Earlier this year Angie also revealed she had been struggling to gain weight while undergoing treatment. She explained that her normally healthy diet was making it harder to put on the weight doctors say she needs before continuing chemotherapy.
“I’ve got to gain weight because I weigh 46 kilos and with the next two rounds of chemo, I need more weight,” she said. “But the problem is, I’m trying to eat healthy so I’ve now got to go and eat, not quite so healthy.”
In a caption accompanying her video, Angie explained more about the mistletoe therapy she is currently receiving.
“Today I’m having Mistletoe therapy — it stimulates your immune system and mitigates side effects of chemo and radiation like pain, nausea and fatigue.”
Her son Calum Best responded to the emotional update in the comments, writing simply: “I love you.”
The former Celebrity Big Brother star first revealed his mother’s devastating diagnosis earlier this year, explaining that her colon cancer had already spread to her liver.
Sharing the heartbreaking news in a video posted to social media, Calum said: “A few weeks ago, my beautiful, wonderful mum was diagnosed with cancer. For as long as I can remember, she has lived her life rooted in health, fitness and wellbeing.”
“But as we all know, cancer doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care where you’re from, how you live, or how healthy you try to be. And now it’s here — and it’s with my mum.”
Calum admitted he had been on an “emotional rollercoaster” since learning about the diagnosis and said he had set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of specialist treatment.
“This is incredibly hard for me to say, but financially I can’t carry this on my own,” he explained, asking supporters for help to fund the care his mother needs.
While mistletoe therapy has been used in parts of Europe for decades — particularly in Germany, Switzerland and Austria — it remains a controversial treatment and is not currently approved as a standard cancer therapy on the NHS due to limited scientific evidence of its effectiveness.
Still, for Angie and her family, the focus remains on continuing the fight and staying hopeful as she pushes forward with the next stage of treatment.
