BRAVE Hollyoaks star Ali Bastian has revealed she has shaved her head, in an emotional video amid her on-going cancer battle.
The star, 42, recently revealed that she had been diagnosed with stage two breast cancer, leaving her in “total shock”.
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The actress, who has also appeared on the BBC One series Doctors and took part in the seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing, found a lump when she was breastfeeding her daughter Isabella.
The 42-year-old star is undergoing weekly chemotherapy sessions and is set to undergo a mastectomy and radiotherapy treatment early next year.
Ali recently revealed she was starting to lose her hair, following her treatment.
The brave star has now made the decision to shave her head and shared an emotional video with fans.
The montage took her followers through her journey from cutting her hair short to finally shaving it.
Writing next to the clip, she posted: “Hair loss is just one aspect of all of this that we all wish wasn’t a side effect but I know it’s not forever and a small price to pay for the chance to be well again.
“The deeper I get into my treatment, the more I see this as an outward expression of how stripped back and raw it feels right now.
“Also sharing as this feels like part of my way… not ‘back’ to myself… as I will be forever changed… but forward towards my future…to show up as I am right now. In the truth of today.
“For all of the warrior women going through this. You are not alone.”
Ali revealed her heartbreaking cancer news last month.
She told OK! magazine: “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.”
Initially, doctors believed it could be a blocked duct but after antibiotics failed to stop the soreness she had tests done at a specialist clinic that revealed she had cancer.
Her husband David O’Mahony said: “I was with the kids and Ali stuck her head round the door and said that cancerous cells had turned up in the biopsy.
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“She said it in the most subtle way so the girls didn’t twig. I could see how scared and in shock she was.
“It’s so tempting to try and ‘positive’ your way through news like this but it just hit us like a sledgehammer.
“I just had a feeling of it being so unfair that Ali had been dealt this hand.”
Ali played the character of Becca Dean on the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks from 2001 to 2007.
She moved from London to rural Ireland with her husband and two daughters, Isla and Isabella earlier this year.
Ali revealed in an Instagram post she suffered “major burn out” due to her life in London and challenges following her second pregnancy being some of the reasons the family left the capital.
Ali received the devastating cancer news in June.
She is now receiving care from the Orchid Centre at Cork University Hospital.
Ali admitted she still sometimes feels “frightened” about the future but praised all the medical staff she’s met during the process.
She added the advice the nurses have given her has been help, along with keeping a journal of her experiences.
Ali said: “I feel like they’re treating me like one of their own.
What are the signs of breast cancer?
Signs and symptoms
Stay alert to symptoms of breast cancer which include:
- A lump or swelling in the breast, upper chest or armpit
- A change to the skin, such as puckering or dimpling
- A change in the colour of the breast – the breast may look red or inflamed
- A nipple change, for example, it has become pulled in (inverted)
- Rash or crusting around the nipple
- Unusual liquid (discharge) from either nipple
- Changes in the size or shape of the breast
On its own, pain in your breasts is not usually a sign of breast cancer. But look out for pain in your breast or armpit that’s there all or almost all the time.
Although rare, men can get breast cancer. The most common symptom of breast cancer in men is a lump in the chest area.
Check your breasts
There’s no special way to check your breasts and you do not need any training. At Breast Cancer Now, they say, it’s as simple as TLC: Touch, Look, Check:
- Touch your breasts: can you feel anything new or unusual?
- Look for changes: does anything look different to you?
- Check any new or unusual changes with a GP
“It’s like I’ve been scooped up. I’ve been blown away by the care and kindness – every kind word and cup of tea means a lot.
“We love it here.”
Ali praised her former Hollyoaks co-stars including Sarah Jayne Dunn, Carley Stenson and Jodi Albert, who also lives in Ireland, for rallying around and offering support.
She remains positive about the future and said she was looking forward to a return to acting once she is “out of the other side”.
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