Coronation Street star Tracy Shaw has expressed gratitude despite facing a challenging reaction to chemotherapy treatment following her breast cancer diagnosis. The actress, best known for her role as Maxine Peacock on the ITV soap, revealed in April that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and would require five months of chemotherapy.
Diagnosis and Treatment Plan
In her initial announcement, Shaw stated: "I have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Originally I was going to be having surgery in two weeks, but because my results have come back that I am HER2 positive, it means I have to have chemo for five months. Then [there is] hopefully surgery to have lumps removed and take the lymph glands out so they can do some more tests. And possibly more surgery before radiotherapy."
Gratitude Amid Struggles
Appearing on ITV's Lorraine on Thursday, June 11, the 52-year-old said: "I consider myself very lucky and very fortunate, because there are so many people worse off." She added that some individuals face more severe challenges, while others have terminal conditions, making her grateful for the fight she has. "Every day I just wake up and thank God I'm being given this opportunity," she remarked.
Health Update and Hospital Discharge
Earlier this week, Shaw revealed she had been discharged from the critical unit and was receiving treatment for a blood infection. Speaking to Lorraine Kelly, she said: "I'm doing ok today... It isn't an easy path. I'm only sharing it because there are millions of ladies and gentlemen who are going through the same thing. It's not a very nice part of the disease, chemo, really."
On Instagram, Shaw shared that she had been prescribed strong antibiotics to combat the infection. "So I was let out last night from the critical unit because it’s better for us as cancer patients to be at home," she explained. "The microbiologist is still super geeking over this infection. So they’re not quite sure what it is. So they’re just blasting it with some really strong antibiotics. I’m full of drip at the moment. So I’ll go back in today to have my second one. So, basically, I’ve just been sleeping."
Gratitude to NHS
Shaw, who appeared on Coronation Street from 1995 to 2003, expressed her appreciation for the medical team: "I’m in safe hands. Thank you to the NHS, thank you to all the nurses, thank you to my oncologist team. They are very hot on anything to do with infection when we're going through chemotherapy because it’s quite critical. It's just a fact. I’m not making a drama out of this."
