Hollyoaks actor Ali Bastian has announced the sad news that she has been diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer.
The 42-year-old star, who played Becca Dean in the 2000s, spoke to OK! magazine about how she is currently receiving weekly chemotherapy treatments after learning about having the disease in late June.
Following five months of her current treatment, she will have a mastectomy and radiotherapy.
"It was a total shock," she told the publication. "I have mornings when I wake up and I've forgotten… and then suddenly I remember. I'm still trying to process it.
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"I hadn't been breastfeeding (19-month-old daughter) Izzy at night, but then (partner) David flew back to London for work and suddenly she was feeding like crazy.
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"I was thinking, 'Maybe she's having a growth spurt or something'. And because of that, my boobs felt sore. The next morning I woke up and thought, 'Ouch, this really hurts'. And that's when I felt a lump."
The doctor gave her antibiotics and told her to go to the breast clinic if her pain didn't subside after a few days.
"It wasn't clearing up and the more I felt it, the more it felt like this wasn't just a blocked duct," she continued. "I went to my GP and I said, 'Actually, can I go to the clinic now?' and she was very supportive of that."
Ali doesn't live close to the clinic, so received her diagnosis via the phone, as per her request. She told her partner David in "the most subtle way" so her other daughter, four-year-old Isla, didn't realise what it was.
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The actor said her life was "a blur" in the days before her treatment plan, which involves staying in Ireland and seeing a specialist psychologist and a peer support mentor, was sorted out.
"There have been times when I've felt really positive and times when I've felt quite frightened," she said, adding: "When I go for my weekly chemo, the nurses always ask how I'm doing emotionally.
"It's really helpful to talk with someone who is out the other side... I've also been journalling throughout this, which I find helpful."
Ali had her partner cut her hair short and wears a wig, and also got her eyebrows tattooed, to deal with the physical changes due to her treatment. Furthermore, she has been speaking to fellow Hollyoaks stars Sarah Jayne Dunn, Carley Stenson and Jodi Albert, for extra emotional support.
If you would like more information or support about living with cancer or treatment, please click here for guidance from Macmillan Cancer Support, or click here to learn more from Stand Up to Cancer.
Hollyoaks airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its Channel 4 streaming premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
