Artist Tracey Emin has said her cancer has “gone” after a series of major surgeries.
In An interview with BBC Newsnight, the 57-year-old said she had reached a “big, big milestone” last week when her three-monthly scans were “all clear”.
Emin was diagnosed with a “really rapid, really aggressive” bladder cancer last year.
“I’m not painting because I’m using my willpower to stay alive. That’s what I’m doing,” she told the programme.
But she said that over the coming years she hoped to put her energy back into painting, as well as “being happy, smiling more, just enjoying life”.
“I never realised how much I wanted to live until I thought I was going to die,” she said.
Emin, has undergone extensive surgery saying she had her bladder removed, a full hysterectomy, her urethra removed, her lymph nodes removed, “half of my vagina removed”, and part of her intestine removed to stop the spread of the cancer.
She now has a urostomy bag, which replaces the bladder and urinary system. It is a “major disability” because it needs to be emptied as frequently as every 20 minutes, she said.
“You never know when it’s going to happen,” she said.
Following the clear three-monthly scan, she will now move to annual scans, she said.