Former Emmerdale actress Malandra Burrows has revealed she is suffering from breast cancer after a diagnosis in February.
The 56-year-old who was born in Woolton and went to school in Childwall shared the news in an interview with OK! in an attempt to raise awareness. She said the diagnosis came after she found a strange lump whilst exercising, not long after having a stage three tumour removed.
Malandra is now set for six months of chemotherapy in order to battle the cancer but says she doesn't plan to go down without a fight. She said: "I’ve kind of gone into combat mode. If I look back, I’ve given it everything I can and that’s all I can do. I hate to say it, but when it’s your life at stake you’re prepared to do everything to get through. That’s helped me focus."
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The Mirror reported she didn't think she needed to worry, but after a few days rang her GP, and she was asked to visit within the hour. A week later she was in hospital, but the first consultant told her it was a cyst. However, a follow-up scan and ultrasound revealed the devastating truth.
Arriving at the hospital to hear the results of the scan and ultrasound, she was greeted by a Macmillan nurse, and therefore had a feeling what was coming next. "She nearly broke down telling me, but I just went, ‘Don’t be daft! We’ll get through it and I’m going to ring that bell [to celebrate the end of treatment],’”Malandra said.
The I'm a Celeb contestant explained she hasn't cried about her diagnosis as she had time to prepare herself for the news, but her body did "involuntarily had a breakdown". "I didn’t feel like I was breaking down, but I just couldn’t eat or do anything. There was something in the back of my mind that knew what was going on inside my body,” she said.
Medics explained that menopause may have caused her type of cancer, because of the oestrogen and hormonal balance alters. She won't be given a prognosis until she has completed the chemotherapy course, set to take place over six months.
Malandra, who has lost friends to breast cancer, was due to have a routine mammogram in 2020, but it was cancelled due to the pandemic. She believes the cancer may have been spotted earlier if the appointment had gone ahead. Now Malandra is urging women to get mammograms. "Regardless of age, if something seems odd, speak to your GP," she said.
Malandra, who also has a singing career, played one of Emmerdale's longest running characters Kathy from 1985 to 2001, and returning for a short period in 2005. Kathy, who was married three times and dumped at the alter, saw lots of drama in her time, having been kidnapped, knocked down by a horse and trapped in a bus crash wreckage, to name but a few storylines.
