Former minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin revealed she had recently had a cancer scare to the House of Assembly yesterday.

But the One Bermuda Alliance backbencher said she was “fine” in the wake of surgery and precautionary chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

She added: “The tests are all behind me. I have come out on the other side of it well, thank God for that.”

Ms Gordon-Pamplin told MPs she had just gone through “major surgery” as she spoke during the debate on a proposed sugar tax designed to improve public health.

She said the treatments she had after surgery had revealed that she had endometriosis — a condition where uterine tissue grows outside of the uterus.

Ms Gordon-Pamplin said she did not know “whether it could have been avoided by my lack of consumption or my controlled consumption of significant amounts of sweets”.

She added that she was happy to speak about her experience if it helped others because not speaking about it could mean that “our suffering could conceivably be in vain”.

Ms Gordon-Pamplin said: “But if we take the time to be selfless and to share with others what we are experiencing, then I think it may give other people an opportunity to say ‘well, maybe there is something good that will come out of this if I am mindful of my area of consumption’.” Ms Gordon-Pamplin said that people should control their sugar intake.

“We also have an obligation to ensure that we keep on top of our health crises and our health challenges and that we take the time to know our bodies,” she added.

“Because, in the absence of my knowledge of my body, I may not have been able to look at something that was diagnosed as a stage 1A, which is probably as early a diagnosis as one could get.”

Ms Gordon-Pamplin said that because of a “macho” outlook and “mindset that happens” people might not take the necessary tests and medical checks needed to ensure good health.

She added: “All of that is predicated upon what we consume and the impact of what we consume on our bodies.