Tracy Shaw has shared a fresh update on her cancer journey, confessing: "It's not easy." The 52-year-old actress, famous for playing Maxine Peacock in Coronation Street from 1995 to 2003, had previously revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer before undergoing chemotherapy.
Just days after becoming emotional while discussing the effects of her treatment, the star appeared on ITV's Lorraine to update supporters, acknowledging: "It's not been easy." In conversation with presenter Lorraine Kelly, she revealed: "I'm doing okay today, but it isn't an easy path. I'm only sharing it (cancer battle) because there are millions, millions of ladies and gentlemen who are going through the same thing, and it's just not a very nice part of the disease, chemo, really."
The former soap favourite disclosed she experienced a severe reaction to her initial chemotherapy session, explaining: "First dose, they don't really know how your body's going to react, so it's a real big tester." She added: "It's like cheek pox - I had a reaction rather than having a thrush all over me. So you think you're out of the woods of the chemo and then the next minute...it's just not pleasant."
Discussing the devastating moment she learnt of her diagnosis, she recalled: "Because it was underneath my breast and it wasn't on the breast itself. I thought, 'well, it can't be,' so I postponed it, just thinking it'll be okay, but actually, this lump was kind of on the top of my rib. So I went to the doctor's, and they were more concerned about the cyst because I was on HRT, so the HRT was feeding the cancer - it doesn't cause it, but it was feeding it."
She added: "So the cysts were tight and sore, so that's the reason I went. It wasn't really necessarily because of the lump, and the mammogram discovered the lump."
The star acknowledged that her life is no longer "normal" following her diagnosis, but revealed she has received an outpouring of support from both her devoted followers and her sons Louis and Luca Alexander, whom she shares with former partner Ashley Poundall. She said: "The whole family and all the people who are following and messaging at the moment. There are mothers with sons, younger sons, sons my age, and the family members are messaging. Everyone is affected, and sometimes just by me sharing about what the effects are, they understand how that person might be feeling, because you don't know."
Tracy added: "The survivors are just amazing, the ones who are really reaching out and giving me advice and tips. Unless you've been there, you don't really know just how awful it really feels, because there's nothing normal about your life anymore when you go through chemo."
Lorraine airs weekdays from 9:30am on ITV1 and ITVX.
