Joan Collins has revealed her late sister Jackie Collins did not have mammograms and thought a lump on her breast would simply 'go away'.
The bestselling author died from breast cancer at the age of 77 in 2015 and chose to keep her battle with the illness private for years.
Joan, 90, who only found out her sister was sick six weeks before her death, discussed her passing on Thursday's episode of Loose Women.
She said: 'I lost my mother and sister Jacqui to breast cancer and several friends. My sister Jacqui said to me six weeks before she died – "I have got stage 4."
'I said, "Have you not been having mammograms like I’ve been telling you to have?"
Candid: Joan Collins has revealed her late sister Jackie Collins did not have mammograms and thought a lump on her breast would simply 'go away'
Family: The bestselling author died from breast cancer at the age of 77 in 2015 and chose to keep her battle with the illness private for years (Joan and Jackie in their last photo together)
She said, "No, I didn’t want to have them, I felt this lump and thought it would go away." '
Shortly before her death, Jackie explained she hadn't told her famous older sister about her illness sooner because she hadn't wanted to burden her.
'I just felt she didn't need it in her life. She's very positive and very social but I'm not sure how strong she is, so I didn't want to burden her with it,' she told People.
Jackie also said her sister had been 'very shocked' after being told how serious the illness was.
'She had no idea. But she was great. We were emotional,' she said.
Following news of the author's death a spokesman for her family said: 'It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the death of our beautiful, dynamic and one of a kind mother, Jackie Collins, who died of breast cancer today.
'She lived a wonderfully full life and was adored by her family, friends and the millions of readers who she has been entertaining for over four decades.
'She was a true inspiration, a trail blazer for women in fiction and a creative force. She will live on through her characters but we already miss her beyond words.'
Joan revealed: 'I said, "Have you not been having mammograms like I’ve been telling you to have?"'
She said: "No, I didn’t want to have them, I felt this lump and thought it would go away" ' (pictured together in 2015)
Joan also spoke about her father Joseph during the interview, saying he gave her advice on dealing with predatory men.
She said: 'I had a father, he was a theatrical agent. He told me the perils of the profession
'He told me that young pretty girls were meat to predatory older producers, and directors and even actors were like that.
'I said, "Daddy what do I do?" And he said, "You don’t let them get too close to you, and if they do, you laugh at them. Laughing at a guy destroy his ego."'
