Former Emmerdale star Malandra Burrows is undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
The soap actor was diagnosed in February after having found a lump on her breast a month earlier.
She recently had a tumour removed and is now set to undergo six months of chemotherapy.
Burrows – who played Kathy Glover in the long-running soap – told OK! that she is sharing her diagnosis to help raise awareness.
“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,” she said.
The 56-year-old went on to explain how the lump was initially thought to be a cyst.
A follow-up scan and ultrasound, however, later confirmed that she had breast cancer.
Burrows recalled being greeted by a Macmillan nurse when she arrived at the hospital to hear the results of the tests.
“[The nurse] 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],’” said the actor.
She went on to say that she had not cried about her diagnosis since she had time to prepare herself for the news.
“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.
The actor – who was a contestant on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2006 – said that she will not be given a prognosis until she has completed the chemotherapy course, which is set to take place over the next six months.
Burrows has urged women to get mammograms, stating that she believes her cancer may have been spotted sooner had she undergone an earlier routine mammogram that was cancelled due to the pandemic.
“Regardless of age, if something seems odd, speak to your GP,” she said.
