Former Hollyoaks star Ali Bastian has shared an emotional video of herself shaving her head amid her ongoing cancer journey.
Back in September the actor announced that she had been diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, telling OK! Magazine that she is receiving weekly chemotherapy treatments after being diagnosed in June.
Taking to Instagram on Friday (October 11), Bastian shared an update with her fans documenting the hair loss she has experienced during her treatment.
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In the clip, Bastian is first seen cutting her shoulder length hair short with the help of her partner. Later in the video, the actor can be seen hesitating as she begins to shave off her hair entirely.
"When you have breast cancer, every month is breast cancer awareness month," she captioned the video, which included a number of still photographs of Bastian with her head shaved.
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The caption continued: "Hair loss is just one aspect of all of this that we all wish wasn't a side effect but I know it's not forever and a small price to pay for the chance to be well again.
"The deeper I get into my treatment, the more I see this as an outward expression of how stripped back and raw it feels right now."
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In the caption, Bastian said she "will be forever changed" by her experience, while sending a message of support to "all of the warrior women going through this," saying: "You are not alone."
Speaking previously about the diagnosis, Ali said: "There have been times when I've felt really positive and times when I've felt quite frightened.
She added: "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."
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.
Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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.
