Julia Bradbury admitted she was 'overwhelmed' and tearfully broke down during her pre-op ahead of her mastectomy following her breast cancer diagnosis.
The Countryfile presenter, 51, explained that the exposure was a reminder of what the surgeons would be doing the following morning, and that it was her 'last day of being me', before the removal of her left breast.
The mother of three candidly detailed her cancer journey in a new ITV documentary - titled Breast Cancer And Me - as she shared her struggles with coming to terms with her diagnosis and upcoming operation.
Devastation: Julia Bradbury admitted she was 'overwhelmed' and tearfully broke down during her pre-op ahead of her mastectomy following her breast cancer diagnosis
One scene during the hour-long documentary showed Julia in hospital - accompanied by her older sister Gina - as a nurse marked up where the surgeon needed to remove a lymph node to check if the cancer has spread.
Julia looked tearful as they completed the mark up on the location of her nearest lymph node, so that they were able to easily locate it when they operated the following day.
She later said during a confessional that she felt the experience tipped her over the edge because it was a reminder of what the surgeons would be doing to her the following day.
She explained: 'I felt suddenly overwhelmed then when she exposed my breast. I just thought that's what's going to happen tomorrow morning. That was just a bit more emotional than I thought it would be. It's my last day of being me and having my full body and boobs.
Mark: The Countryfile presenter, 51, explained that the exposure was a reminder of what the surgeons would be doing the following morning, and that it was her 'last day of being me', before the removal of her left breast
Powerful: Julia was seen showing the results of her mastectomy and reconstruction
'When I lay down and she exposed my breast, I'm not shy it's not about body image, I just thought when she did it and started touching about that area, that's what they're going to be doing tomorrow. Chopping it open and taking it away, taking the cancer away but changing me forever.
'My surgeon has been in and marked up my body, you feel like you've been tattooed a bit, he explained that he just wants to get the symmetry right because when you lay down it looks different. It's a weird process.
'I've been pretty strong today, I don't think I've cried today. I've cried most days while this has been going on. But today I'm a bit, it's overwhelming, but for all the women who have gone through it and will go through it, this is the best possible thing to get me through to the other side.'
Julia has shared her journey after first learning she had cancer in September last year, admitting that she 'didn't feel she had a choice' about going public with the diagnosis.
During her experience, Julia filmed a video diary and explained how she had to hold her children for the last time three days before the surgery, she said: 'I started self-isolating this morning. I took all my kids to school and waved goodbye at the gates. Then we all knew that I wouldn't be able to hug them again until after the operation.
All access: The mother of three candidly detailed her cancer journey in a new ITV documentary - titled Breast Cancer And Me - as she shared her struggles with coming to terms with her diagnosis and upcoming operation
'It's an extra layer of complication that makes this horrible process even s****er. I don't mind saying that I'm scared now and now it's real dread that I'm feeling. You hope it's a dream and you're wrong.'
The hour-long documentary opened with Julia filming a woodland segment for This Morning, when she was awaiting the results of a recent biopsy - but she refused to take the call while away from home because there was nobody she felt 'close to' that would be able to support her.
Julia said: 'I was away with a new team, up trees and there were emails back and forth about when I could take this call to hear the results of a biopsy I'd had done a week before, on a lump in my left breast.
'I knew I wouldn't be able to take the call because I wasn't prepared for it to be bad news and I wasn't with someone I knew, to be able to ask to take some time out to process it.
Operation: Julia was marked up before operation - as she spoke of what her breasts had done for her throughout her life - including feeding her children
After waiting to take the call at home, Julia recalls how she was told their was a 'big tumour' in her left breast, adding: 'So I thought I'd delay that until I was back. I was ready for the call and I was here at home, it was a sunny day and my consultant called and said you do have cancer. And it's a big tumour.'
Julia, who shares her kids - Zephyr, 10, and twins Xanthe and Zena, both seven, with husband Joe Cunningham, kept her diagnosis hidden for a while because she didn't want her children to hear the news from anyone else.
She said: 'When you hear the words 'you've got cancer', your world stops. It is like moving instantly into slow motion. Just thought shit, okay, I've got to live. I need and want to be here.
Change: Julia spoke of her fears ahead of the operation as she prepared for the procedure
'I didn't want the information about my breast cancer to be
