Hollyoaks star Ali Bastian has been diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer.
The 42-year-old actress – who is best known for playing Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap from 2001 to 2007 – has admitted she was left in “total shock” when she found out the devastating news at the end of June.
Ali – who now lives in Ireland with her husband and two young daughters – is currently having chemotherapy before she undergoes a mastectomy and radiotherapy.
She told OK!: ‘It was a total shock. I have mornings when I wake up and I’ve forgotten… and then suddenly I remember. I’m still trying to process it.’
Ali was breastfeeding daughter Isabella, 19 months – her youngest child with husband David O’Mahony – when she came across a lump.
Hollyoaks star Ali Bastian has been diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer after discovering a lump while breastfeeding
Ali was breastfeeding daughter Isabella, 19 months – her youngest child with husband David O’Mahony – when she came across a lump
The mother-of-two – who also raises Isla, four, with her husband – shared: ‘I hadn’t been breastfeeding Izzy at night but then David flew back to London for work and suddenly she was feeding like crazy. I was thinking, “Maybe she’s having a growth spurt or something.”
‘And because of that, my boobs felt sore. The next morning, I woke up and thought, “Ouch, this really hurts.” And that’s when I felt a lump.’
Ali assumed she had a “blocked duct” and was given a course of antibiotics, but it wasn’t clearing up, so on her doctor’s advice, she headed to a breast clinic.
She continued: ‘It was a bank holiday in Ireland, so I went straight to the emergency doctor.
‘It really seemed like I had mastitis, especially as I had been night-weaning Izzy before that. We thought I probably had a blocked duct. The doctor gave me antibiotics and said that if it didn’t clear up in a few days I should go to the breast clinic.
‘But it wasn’t clearing up and the more I felt it, the more it felt like this wasn’t just a blocked duct. I went to my GP and I said, ‘Actually, can I go to the clinic now?’ and she was very supportive of that.’
Ali received the shock news via telephone but was reassured after being told they have “intent to cure” her.
Explaining that the clinic was too far to go for the diagnosis, she said: ‘We agreed that I would text her and that she would then call me back. I could hear it in the tone of her voice, but she told me in the kindest way possible.
Ali married her partner, West End actor David (pictured), in 201p. The couple are parents to Isla (pictured) and Isabella
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and affects more than two MILLION women a year
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Each year in the UK there are more than 55,000 new cases, and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women. In the US, it strikes 266,000 each year and kills 40,000. But what causes it and how can it be treated?
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.
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?
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 mammography, 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.
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.
For more information visit breastcancernow.org or call its free helpline on 0808 800 6000
‘She was very reassuring. She said the words that I’m holding on to, that they have “intent to cure me.”‘
Doctors are convinced her cancer is “hormone-driven” and are doing more research to establish if it’s genetic, however, her maternal aunt and grandmother also had breast cancer.
She is set to undergo a single mastectomy and is still waiting to hear if doing double is a good idea as a “preventative measure”.
The actress is also being seen by a psychologist who specialises in oncology and has been given a mentor who has had cancer.
Ali has vowed to beat the disease and has every intention of returning to acting.
She added: ‘I will get through this and come out the other side. After my diagnosis, I went on Instagram and saw a post by my friend Dominic Power, my former co-star in The Bill, and I could see he was on set in Hollyoaks.
I suddenly had a real pang of, “I want to look into an actor’s eyes and do a scene.” I really miss it.’
In December the actress admitted she was still processing her grief following the death of her close friend, Lou
In May Ali revealed news of Lou’s passing to her Instagram followers in a heartbreaking post (pictured together)
In December the actress admitted she was still processing her grief following the death of her close friend, Lou.
She told Instagram followers: ‘This year has been a year of sailing the lonely sea of grief. I haven’t spoken about it and so it’s been very tricky to know how to begin to show up authentically here and in my professional life.
‘As the life I have carved out for myself is a very visible one and at times, a lot of times I have wanted and needed to pull the duvet over my head.
‘I am so grateful for the kindness, support and connection in this little corner of the internet and will continue to be here when I feel able and to also take the quiet time I need.’
Ali had previously revealed news of Lou’s passing to her Instagram followers that May, saying she had lost one of her ‘oldest and closest’ friends.
She wrote: ‘My little one will be 12 weeks this Saturday. The End of the fourth trimester – the end of a period that has been one of the toughest of my life.
‘A week after she was born, I lost one of my oldest and closest friends. Trying to process this enormous loss whilst walking the hormonal tightrope of my postpartum period has been and remains to be incredibly intense.
‘I’ve taken to having long showers so I can cry and let it all out so that I can then return to parenting a little lighter.
‘Knowing that such life changing events happening in such close succession could leave my mental health sailing incredibly close to the wind has meant I’ve had to seek help wherever I could find it.’
Doctors are convinced Ali’s cancer is “hormone-driven” and are doing more research to establish if it’s genetic, however, her maternal aunt and grandmother also had breast cancer
The 42-year-old actress is best known for playing Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap from 2001 to 2007 (pictured on the show with former co-star Chris Fountain)
She added: ‘Some days are easier than others and I am holding my babies tightly but ultimately…
‘I miss my friend with all my heart. My beautiful, funny, dry as f**k friend. I miss her laugh, I miss our short hand. I miss our hugs when we hadn’t seen each other for ages.
‘Our always long overdue catch ups over wine by the river. Friday nights when I would drive from wherever I had been filming to crash out on her and her dear husband’s sofa after a take away.
‘So many memories, so many happy times. An incredible light went out that day. Lou, I will love you forever.’
If you have have been affected by anything in this story, contact the Macmillan Support Line for free on 0808 808 00 00.