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British tabloid celebrity Jade Goody has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and given just months to live.
The 27-year-old reality television star was diagnosed with cervical cancer last year but learned on Friday that it had spread to her bowel, liver and groin and was no longer treatable.
Now Goody, who has lived her life in the media spotlight since rising to fame on Britain's 2002 season of Big Brother, is preparing to wed her 21-year-old fiancé Jack Tweed and making plans to ensure her two sons Bobby (5), and Freddie (4) are adequately cared for following her death.
Goody's publicist Max Clifford told the Guardian newspaper that his client would likely allow television cameras to film the upcoming wedding.
"The wedding is still to be discussed but it is a happy event and on that basis possibly she will [allow cameras to film the event]. It also helps her think about something else and is in some ways a distraction," he said.
Clifford told the Mirror.co.uk that singer Sir Elton John had offered the use of his 20 million pound (NZ$55.2m) home near Windsor Castle for the couple's nuptials and that Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed had gifted Goody a wedding dress.
A bidding war for rights to cover of the wedding - set to take place in the next couple of weeks - is expected to net Goody up to 3 million pounds (NZ$8.3m), which she will put in a trust fund for her children.
Goody became embroiled in controversy two years ago after feuding with Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and allegedly making racist comments on the British show Celebrity Big Brother.
In an effort to make amends, Goody travelled to Mumbai last year to participate in Bigg Boss, an Indian version of Celebrity Big Brother hosted by Shetty.
The moment Goody was first told about her cervical cancer diagnosis was captured during filming of Bigg Boss.
On learning of the diagnosis, Shetty sent her condolences to Goody and her family.
"I was really sad when I heard the news," she wrote in a text message to The Associated Press at the time.
"It's a tough time for her and I hope she is able to cope with this pain."
In interviews with News of the World last week, Goody said she just wanted to spend time with her family in the time she has left.
"I want to ask God why he couldn't have given me more time with my boys. Just a bit - just enough to hear them laugh a few more times, to see that they're happy, to write them long letters so I can tell them who I was and how much I loved them and remind them about all the things we did together.
"Because they might forget me. And I can't bear the thought of that."
In response to a question from the interviewer about the interest in her fate, Goody is pragmatic: "I've lived in front of the cameras. And maybe I'll die in front of them. And I know some people don't like what I'm doing but at this point I really don't care what other people think. Now, it's about what I want."
- NZ HERALD STAFF, AP
