Coronation Street icon Tracy Shaw became emotional as she prepared for chemotherapy. The actress, best known for playing Maxine Peacock on the ITV soap from 1995 to 2003, revealed last month that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and has been keeping fans updated ever since.
On Tuesday evening, she took to social media to post a video of herself wearing a headscarf, although she made it clear that she has not shaved her head, and admitted she had spent the morning having a "good cry" as she began to think about what lies ahead for her.
Speaking in a video posted to Instagram, she said: "I'm just going to be me, and my truth is...by the way, I've not shaved my hair off, I've just put a scarf on just because I've not done anything with it and I'm going to hospital."
"Each morning I wake up and know that I have to go into hospital and receive more news, which has been going on for a long time, that unknown...I just think 'I can't go through with this anymore,' but I've not even started my journey."
"I've had a good cry. I'll go in later today and I'll meet some other ladies who will start the treatment with me - chemo. And I'll find out the date. 50% of me wants to get going. I want to know that it's being shrunk and the cancer is being dealt with. When I wake up and I've got really bad headaches or I can feel another twinge in my other boob, I just think 'Oh, it's moving!'"
"With HER2 cancer, we don't really know what it's doing, we know that the clips are in to know where those two lumps are placed, but until we've shrunk it... We, I mean the medical experts, I thank God for everyone who has raised money in the past for charities to be able to help scientists find new drugs to be able to give women and gentlemen like us a chance. If this was a few years ago, possibly they would've cut the cancer out but it's not one that behaves, not that any one cancer does."
The actress, who also enjoyed a brief pop career with a cover of the Lonnie Gordon track Happenin' All Over Again before appearing in Casualty, Doctors and Mile High, has been open about her struggles with addiction in the past. She concluded that this time, she is only able to navigate things by taking her illness one step at a time.
She added: "All forms of cancer are awful. Most of the time, I get on with life but then I think that's probably what we do. But the fact is when you wake up in the morning and you think 'It hasn't gone away.' It isn't like the addictions that I've recovered from by the grace of God. There appears to be a long road ahead, or a mountain."
"I had some great guidance which is 'Don't look up, just keep going to the next base camp, don't climb Mt Everest, just keep taking one base camp at a time.' So today, I'll be going into the hospital and I'll be seeing my wonderful oncologist, and some other wonderful women on this journey with me, and I will face the next base camp."
When Tracy broke the sad news almost a month ago, several of her co-stars offered the mother of two their support and left kind messages on social media. Samia Longchambon, who has played Maria Connor in the soap since 2000, said: "Sending love to you Tracy." Another former Corrie star, Sally Ann Matthews, who portrayed Jenny Bradley, wrote: "Love you baby girl x."
According to the NHS, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women in the UK. The main treatment for breast cancer in women and people with breasts is usually surgery. Other common treatments include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted medicines and immunotherapy.
If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Breast Cancer Support.
