Peter Overton opens up about devastating health scare
Nine newsreader Peter Overton has opened up about the devastating health scare in an interview with Stellar magazine, describing it as the “most challenging thing,” he’s ever faced.
The 52-year-old revealed that he’d been somewhat blasé about the symptoms when he was first diagnosed, thinking the lump was just an ingrown hair.
“One night, I recall saying to my colleague on set: ‘God, I can’t wait for the news to be over, I feel abysmal,’” he told the publication, adding that his wife had then told him to go to the GP.
“I got an appointment the next morning. He looked at it and said, ‘I’m really concerned about this Peter. This could be lymphoma.’”
Overton said the experience was sobering.
“I had never been in that situation myself ... I have sat in front of families with kids dying, and with (late surgeon and cancer sufferer) Chris O’Brien. But suddenly my mind was there,” he said.
“It wandered to places I didn’t want it to wander. I was calm, but it was going. This was the most challenging thing I have faced.”
Jessica Rowe, Overton’s partner of 14 years, told Stellar how challenging the scare was for the family.
“I only knew that he’d gone to see the GP ... He came out the front and I wound my window down as I was still trying to park the car,” Rowe told Stellar.
“And he said, ‘Now, pussycat ... I have to go see a specialist and have tests.’ I was just stunned.”
Fortunately the lump ended up being less sinister than cancer, but it was a nasty scare for the family.
During the interview, Rowe also touched on her decision to leave Studio 10.
“You have to listen to what your instinct and your heart are telling you, and I knew that it was time. I needed and wanted to be present for our daughters. I wanted to be there in the mornings.”