Beverley Callard has revealed she has been diagnosed with breast cancer, just weeks after announcing her new soap job.
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The former Coronation Street actress, 68, has relocated to Ireland to star in Dublin-based soap opera Fair City.
However, Beverley revealed she received the news she had been diagnosed with the disease just 20 minutes before she was due to film her first scenes.
Speaking to Patrick Kielty on RTÉ's The Late Late Show, she explained she will need surgery and radiation back in the UK, though medics have caught the cancer early.
Beverley said: 'I'd had some tests just before I left the UK and literally 15 to 20 minutes before [her first scene] I was in my dressing room at Fair City, getting ready to go on, and I was quite nervous and thinking, "I hope everybody thinks I'm all right, whatever".
'And my consultant rang me and said, "you've got to come back to the UK". I said, "well I can't possibly, you know, I've just taken a new job I'm away for a month".'
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Beverley Callard has revealed she has been diagnosis with breast cancer, just weeks after announcing her new soap job
She explained she will need surgery and radiation back in the UK, though medics have caught the disease early
She continued: 'I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
'But I'm fine. I'm absolutely fine. My head was a bit mashed for the first few days. It's very early stages, and I'm along with, you know, thousands of other women as well.
'It's early stages. I travel back to the UK tomorrow, just for a couple of weeks. They're going to test lymph nodes and lymph glands and all that.
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'I need an operation and some radiotherapy, and then I'm coming back to Fair City, so I will be back in just a few weeks.'
Last month Beverley was forced to hit back at rumours she was on weight-loss jabs after showing off her smaller frame.
In a video to fans addressing her weight loss, she said she has been 'working her a**e off' her whole life and has been heavily involved in fitness.
Beverley confirmed that her incredible physique was not because of 'any weight loss jabs' but was just her hard work.
She went on to say that she 'would not knock anybody' for using the jabs and urged people 'to do what they need to do'.
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The former Coronation Street actress, 68, has relocated to Ireland to star in Dublin-based soap opera Fair City
Beverley said: 'It's early stages. I travel back to the UK tomorrow, just for a couple of weeks. They're going to test lymph nodes and lymph glands and all that'
Last month Beverley was forced to hit back at rumours she was on weight-loss jabs after showing off her smaller frame
Meanwhile, Beverley is facing fresh financial woes after reportedly failing to pay a £98,000 tax bill which could force her to become bankrupt for a second time.
The Liz McDonald actress owed HMRC after her company JMBJ Limited went bust in 2023.
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Beverley and her husband Jon McEwan, who are directors of the company, set the entity up after she left the ITV soap as a way to manage her money, before going into liquidation.
The firm is said to have only managed to pay off £7,500 of the £114,000 loans they took against the business, leaving an outstanding £51,000 tax bill and £47,000 owed in corporation tax.
In addiction the business also is in debt almost £3,000 to 'other creditors' due to 'insufficient funds' with liquidators also only being paid just £7,657 of their £33,164 bill.
'This offer was deemed acceptable on the basis that, given the directors’ financial position, it was unlikely that any further recoveries would be possible and that the costs of continuing to pursue this matter would likely outweigh any potential further recoveries which would result in any benefit to the Company’s creditors'.
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and affects more than two MILLION women a year
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What is breast cancer?
It comes from a cancerous cell which develops in the lining of a duct or lobule in one of the breasts.
When the breast cancer has spread into surrounding tissue it is called 'invasive'. Some people are diagnosed with 'carcinoma in situ', where no cancer cells have grown beyond the duct or lobule.
Most cases develop in those over the age of 50 but younger women are sometimes affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, though this is rare.
Staging indicates how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body.
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The cancerous cells are graded from low, which means a slow growth, to high, which is fast-growing. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after they have first been treated.
What causes breast cancer?
A cancerous tumour starts from one abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. It is thought that something damages or alters certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiply 'out of control'.
Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase the chance, such as genetics.
What are the symptoms of breast cancer?
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The usual first symptom is a painless lump in the breast, although most are not cancerous and are fluid-filled cysts, which are benign.
The first place that breast cancer usually spreads to is the lymph nodes in the armpit. If this occurs you will develop a swelling or lump in an armpit.
How is breast cancer diagnosed?
- Initial assessment: A doctor examines the breasts and armpits. They may do tests such as a mammogram, a special X-ray of the breast tissue which can indicate the possibility of tumours.
- Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer.
If you are confirmed to have breast cancer, further tests may be needed to assess if it has spread. For example, blood tests, an ultrasound scan of the liver or a chest X-ray.
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How is breast cancer treated?
Treatment options which may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Often a combination of two or more of these treatments are used.
- Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or the removal of the affected breast depending on the size of the tumour.
- Radiotherapy: A treatment which uses high energy beams of radiation focused on cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells, or stops them from multiplying. It is mainly used in addition to surgery.
- Chemotherapy: A treatment of cancer by using anti-cancer drugs which kill cancer cells, or stop them from multiplying.
- Hormone treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the 'female' hormone oestrogen, which can stimulate the cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments which reduce the level of these hormones, or prevent them from working, are commonly used in people with breast cancer.
How successful is treatment?
The outlook is best in those who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small, and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumour in an early stage may then give a good chance of cure.
The routine mammography offered to women between the ages of 50 and 71 means more breast cancers are being diagnosed and treated at an early stage.
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For more information visit breastcancernow.org or call its free helpline on 0808 800 6000