Page last updated at 17:00 GMT, Monday, 16 February 2009

Goody 'wants to support her sons'

Jade Goody and Max Clifford
Messages of support had given Goody "a tremendous lift", Mr Clifford said

Reality TV star Jade Goody aims to make "as much money as possible" before she dies to support her two young sons, her publicist Max Clifford has said.

He told ITV1's This Morning that Goody, given months to live by cancer doctors, wanted to ensure they did not have the "horrendous childhood" she had.

Mr Clifford said Goody, 27, wanted them to have "the best education" to "give them the best chance in life".

She learned last week that cervical cancer, diagnosed in 2008, had spread.

Last week, she had been told it had spread to her bowel, liver and groin.

And, on Friday, doctors at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London told her she had only months left to live.

Mr Clifford said: "She was sitting on the bed, still in pain, probably a couple of hours after being told she was going to die and she was saying to me, 'look Max, I know I'm ignorant but I'm going to make sure that my boys get the best education. I'm going to pay for their education for the rest of their lives because that'll give them the best chance in life.'"

Max Clifford
He said she had told him: "I've loved being a reality TV star, it's been wonderful to me, I've met all kinds of really wonderful people so I consider myself to be lucky.

"So I'm doing what comes naturally to me - I want to make as much money as possible to look after my boys. This is how I do it."

Custody question

Goody had children Bobby, five, and Freddie, four, with former boyfriend and TV presenter Jeff Brazier. Mr Clifford said he "would assume" that Brazier would ultimately take custody of the children.

Goody has spoken about her own childhood, spent in a run-down part of Bermondsey, south-east London, being interrupted by having to help out her mother, who lost the use of her left arm and the sight in one eye after a motorcycle accident.

She has also said she did not get the chance to go to school often.

Mr Clifford said his client had received thousands of messages of support from all over the UK which had given her "a tremendous lift".

He added: "She's got a tremendous satisfaction and happiness that there's been a huge increase in young women all over Britain having cervical smears.

"As she said, 'hopefully they won't suffer what I've suffered and they can learn from what happened to me'."

Goody is planning to marry her current boyfriend, Jack Tweed, who proposed to her in hospital on Friday.

Mr Clifford said Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed had given Goody a dress as "a wedding present" and that singer Elton John had offered the use of one of his homes as a venue.

Goody has continued to appear on television and speak to the press throughout her treatment.

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