Edwina Bartholomew's emotional message to viewers after shock return to TV: 'Didn't want to miss today'

Edwina Bartholomew has returned to Sunrise after taking some time off following her on-air reveal that she has cancer earlier this month. The presenter told viewers that she is battling chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and had "no symptoms" or "warning signs", adding it was only found because she decided to have a routine health check when she turned 40.

Edwina spent her time off with her husband, Neil Varcoe, and their two children Molly, four, and Tom, two, and will appear on Sunrise a few days a week. The presenter made her return on Friday morning as Sunrise broadcast from Melbourne ahead of Saturday's AFL grand final between Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions.

"I’m so well rested, I have had a huge gigantic warm embrace from Sunrise viewers and I didn’t want to miss today," Edwina said on the show. "I love today (the AFL grand final), as we all do. I wanted to be back in time, not just for the mini jaffles, but to see you all and be here for such a wonderful weekend in Melbourne."

"So good to have you back, Eddy," host Nat Barr said, with their co-hosts agreeing.

Viewers were quick to share their excitement that Eddy was back on the show, with one Facebook user writing, "Looking fabulous Eddy, was good to see you."

"Lovely to see you back Eddy," another said.

"Great to see Eddy's beautiful smile again," a third added on Instagram.

"There’s been a little bit of my sunrise missing in the mornings and now she’s back ❤️looking as lovely as ever. Stay strong and keep rested up Eddy," someone else said.

Edwina Bartholomew shares 'personal news'

"I have some personal news this morning," Edwina said, as she shared her news earlier this month. "It's not great news, not a panda story to finish the bulletin. I have been diagnosed with cancer. That's a shock to say and hard to say, but it's a really good kind. It's called chronic myeloid leukemia, so it can be treated with a daily tablet. If I take care of myself, I will be completely, absolutely fine. So I feel very, very lucky."

She continued, "I wanted to share this with you for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because everyone at home and here has been here for all the wonderful times, for the engagements and the weddings and the babies, for all of us. So it felt right to share this with you too, and I know many of you have been in similar situations or much, much worse, and come out the other side of it stronger and more resilient. And that's exactly what I plan to do. I thought I could keep it together, and I will."

"Secondly, the reason I'm telling you is because after I turned 40, I made the decision to prioritise my health. I got a skin check after Nat had her scare, I had a mammogram after I had a few lumps, and that came back all clear. I even had an eye check, and that's fine, but my doctor sent me to get some routine blood tests at the same time, and one of those tests came back with some levels out of whack. So please, particularly for mums who always take care of everyone else, please take care of yourself too, and just check in with your doctor."

'Feel really positive'

Through her tears, she added, "Despite appearances, I feel really positive about it. It genuinely is the luckiest, unlucky thing to ever happen to me. I'm just beyond grateful I found it and beyond grateful it's the best-case scenario."

Nat Barr told Edwina that she and the Sunrise team are "really sorry" that she has to go through this, asking the newsreader to explain the treatment.

"We're so lucky, so literally, I can take a daily tablet. My life expectancy doesn't change. I just do need to take care of myself and rest, so we're unbelievably lucky to firstly, have access to that in this country and that that is, you know, the kind that I have. And also I've reacted really well to the medication so far, which is fantastic, and they've had no side effects."

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She added, "And I also had no symptoms, which is why I wanted to give that health warning at all. I didn't have anything. I mean, I was tired, but hey, you know, get up at 3am, so no symptoms at all, no warning signs. And that's really common with this kind of kind of cancer, chronic myeloid leukemia. You often don't have symptoms very slow growing. But if I hadn't prioritised my health and had that check, I could be dealing with a really different situation.

"So yeah, I think it's just a lot to wrap your head around because it sounds like a scary word, but you know, Beretts, for Tour de Cure, you're working in this space all the time," Edwina said, referencing Mark Beretta's work with the cancer research fundraiser "You know, just so many amazing breakthroughs, and just, yeah, everything crossed, and just so incredibly grateful that this is the outcome."

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