Hollyoaks star Ali Bastian, 42, has revealed she has been diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer after finding a lump while breastfeeding her child.
The actor starred as Becca Dean in the popular soap from 2001 to 2007, and played Sally Armstrong in The Bill from 2007 to 2009. She competed in the seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing, finishing in third place in 2009.
The mother-of-two said the news had come as a “total shock” and she still wakes up forgetting it has happened.
“I hadn’t been breastfeeding Izzy [her 19 month old daughter Isabella] at night but then David flew back to London for work and suddenly she was feeding like crazy,” she told OK! Magazine. “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.”
Bastian assumed she had a “blocked duct” which was causing the pain and was prescribed a course of antibiotics. But when they didn’t alleviate her symptoms, her doctor advised her to visit a breast clinic.
She was given a scan, but as she lived far from the clinic, she asked to have the results over the phone.
“We agreed that I would text her and that she would then call me back,” she explained.
“I could hear it in the tone of her voice but she told me in the kindest way possible. She was very reassuring. She said the words that I’m holding on to, that they have ‘intent to cure me’.”
“The multidisciplinary team decided what order I should have my chemotherapy and operation,” she said as she confirmed she is due to have a single mastectomy.
“I’ve asked if they would consider a double mastectomy as a preventative measure and they would, but it’s not been fully discussed yet.”
Reflecting on the emotional toll the diagnosis has taken, Bastian said, “There have been times when I’ve felt really positive and times when I’ve felt quite frightened.”
She continued, “When I go for my weekly chemo, the nurses always ask how I’m doing emotionally.”
Bastian praised her partner David O’Mahony for being “incredible”, adding: “He’s taking on a lot. There are days where I’m not firing on all cylinders.”
The impact of the treatment has resulted in hair loss, which the actor says she wants to take at her own pace.
“David cut my hair last night,” she said. “A neighbour, who’s a hairdresser, kindly offered to cut it, but we decided to have a personal moment – just us.
“I was starting to cut out the matted bits and then David said, ‘Let me help,’ and I now like the style. I know some people like to take that power back and shave it off in one go, but it’s helping me to do it in stages.”