Hollyoaks actress Abi Phillips has revealed she has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer at the age of 28, despite doctors initially dismissing her concerns.
Abi, who played Liberty Savage on the Channel 4 show, posted the heartbreaking news of her diagnosis on Instagram.
She revealed she'd had a biopsy following her concerns about her health, and posted pictures of herself in hospital, as reports the Mirror.
Abi, whose mum is Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips, wrote in her post: “So, I took these pictures before my scans and after my biopsy having a good old laugh about how ridiculously dressed up I looked in the hospital before a gig, not expecting for one moment to get the news that I did two weeks later…"
She added: 'I’d previously been sent away from the doctors after having found two lumps in my neck, they’d passed it off and said I was ‘young’ and it wouldn’t be anything and I was ‘probably getting over a cold’ or my body was ‘fighting something off’.
“As much as that’s what I wanted to hear I wanted to get everything checked for my own peace of mind.”
Abi was then told by a specialist she had cancer and needed surgery and radiotherapy.
She thanked Love Island's Demi Jones, who had a thyroidectomy after being diagnosed in May 2021, for highlighting on social media where her lumps were - as they were in the same place.
She said: “I booked in with a specialist and immediately she told me she was very concerned due to where my lumps were located and referred me for an urgent biopsy and scans.
“Fast forward two weeks and just before Easter weekend I had an appointment to see a consultant at the QE hospital who sat me down and told me that I had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and that I would need surgery and radiotherapy treatment.
“I never thought I would be told that I have cancer at the age of 28, you never think it’s going to happen to you. I wouldn’t have taken things further with seeing a specialist if I hadn’t seen @demijones1 post as her lumps were in the exact same place as mine.”
Abi said she will have surgery next week and urged her fans: “If ever you find a lump or something unusual on your body, never just think it’s nothing, don’t be told that you’re fine by the GP and you’re ‘young’, always get things checked out by a specialist if you can and insist on tests even if it turns out to be nothing, as catching things early is crucial for a good prognosis.”
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