British artist Tracey Emin announces bladder cancer all clear

Tracey Emin, the artist best known for her Turner Prize-nominated ‘Unmade Bed’, said her cancer has “gone” after she underwent surgery.

Emin, 57, was diagnosed early last year after discovering a tumour in her bladder while working on a painting of a malignant lump.

She had surgery last summer, when many of her reproductive organs were removed and she was fitted with a stoma bag.

London-born Emin told Newsnight she has reached a “big, big milestone” and last week her three-monthly scans were “all clear”.

In an interview set to air on Friday, she told the programme: “I’m not painting because I’m using my willpower to stay alive. That’s what I’m doing.”

Emin, also known for the tent Everyone I Have Ever Slept With, added she hoped to return to painting in the future.

“I never realised how much I wanted to live until I thought I was going to die,” she said.

Emin said she will now move to annual cancer scans.

Turner Prize nominee Tracey Emin.

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