Coronation Street star Tracy Shaw has opened up about the 'remarkable' effect of publicly discussing her breast cancer diagnosis, revealing that some followers have been diagnosed after seeing her posts.
The actress, known for playing Maxine Peacock on the ITV soap from 1995 to 2003, disclosed her diagnosis earlier this year. Since then, she has been sharing honest and personal updates about her treatment journey.
Appearing on the ITV chat show Lorraine earlier this week, Shaw spoke about her battle. 'It isn't an easy path,' she told host Lorraine Kelly. 'I'm only sharing it because there are millions of ladies and gentlemen who are going through the same thing and it's just not a very nice piece of the disease chemo really.'
Earlier in the week, Shaw posted about the side effects of chemotherapy on Instagram. 'Day 10 after chemo, another trip to A&E, most of the day asleep,' she said, fighting tears. 'I've got cream for thrush. All in my nose, all in my mouth, my ears, my head. I have been constantly on the toilet. There's no strength left.'
'In my head I thought there may be a break after a week after chemo. So this is the effects that the chemo has had on the body. So, basically the chemo kills everything including the lining of my stomach.'
'And there is no strength…it just feels like you're as vulnerable as a baby. It's very difficult to be around people and to be around noises. You're so sensitive.'
'Still can't taste anything or eat anything. It just feels really tough today. It just feels really difficult to dig deep without the help of the ladies that I'm in contact with on Instagram.'
Discussing how a cancer diagnosis affects not just the patient but also loved ones, Shaw told Lorraine that 'everyone is affected.' 'The whole family and all the people who are following and messaging at the moment – those mothers with sons, younger sons or with sons my age, the family members are messaging.'
'Sometimes just by me sharing about what the effects are, they understand how that person might be feeling, because you don't know.'
Lorraine praised Shaw for showing the 'reality' of cancer through her 'honest posts' and told her she will have 'saved lives' by doing so.
Shaw revealed that she knows of a couple of women who have since been diagnosed after seeing her social media posts. 'It's quite remarkable that when we do speak out, we do help others,' she concluded.
