Coronation Street star Tracy Shaw said she is struggling in an emotional update after undergoing her first chemotherapy session following her breast cancer diagnosis.
The actress, 52, who was diagnosed with the disease last month, said she was ‘feeling the effects’ and explained some dangers that she must watch out for.
Tracy said that she now has to have her heart checked and has to keep an eye on her temperature as she deals with the side effects of the treatment.
Speaking in a video shared to her Instagram on Friday, she said: ‘So yesterday I had my first injection of chemo. It’s one which affects my heart so I have to have my heart checked on a regular basis for scans.
‘It really wiped me, I don’t know if it’s because I had to go back into hospital and it’s so hot in there.
‘Why doesn’t the government just look after the guys at the NHS a little bit more and invest a bit more into our hospitals.’
Coronation Street actress Tracy Shaw said she is struggling in emotional update after undergoing her first chemotherapy session following her breast cancer diagnosis
Tracy continued: ‘So many people go private and spend a lot of money on this.
‘I wasn’t feeling very good anyway. Normally my three lots of chemo would go in on the same day. Bless my son Luca, he came in and sat in the waiting room.
‘I’m feeling the effects today. I’ve taken my first injection to help my immune system. Basically from tomorrow I can’t really socialize.
‘My immune system will be really low. The other thing is temperatures.’
Tracy went on to explain how she must call an emergency number if her temperature drops or rises as it could be a sign of sepsis.
The actress concluded: ‘My body is now going to war with that thing in me which doesn’t belong in here.’
She captioned the post: ‘Thank you for all your love and support. Extremely long update unfortunately, but I’m struggling to reply to everyone individually, grab a cuppa and a biscuit or scroll if you’d like.
‘Sending all my love to everyone on the same journey with chemo and cancer in general.’
Tracy said that she now has to have her heart checked and has to keep an eye out on her temperature as she deals with the side effects of the treatment
Tracy continued: ‘I promised I’d keep it real. Main points Parliament, Labour? Why aren’t you investing in the NHS? Hospital and staff.
‘Dogs detect cancer listen, watch their signals, they are in tune either our bodies. Blessed to have two amazing sons Luca & Louis. If you’re going through chemo, check your temperature, listen to the guidelines.
I’m about to go into a mini lockdown to protect immunity while the chemo does a fantastic job at attacking the 2 lumps in my breast so hopefully further down the line I can have surgery.
‘Thank you for all your messages. You’re so inspiring and thoughtful.’
She previously played Maxine Peacock on Corrie from 1995 to 2003, before she was sensationally murdered by serial killer Richard Hillman.
On Thursday Tracy revealed she has completed her ‘first day of chemotherapy’ and shared a new video update on Instagram revealing she has had chemo from 9am until 5.30pm.
She shared that she is ‘feeling really positive’ but explained that everything she ‘eats tastes horrible’.
She said: ‘First day of chemo done! I’m feeling alright but that has a great amount to do with the steroids which are helping my body fight the chemo that has gone in.
‘So I went in today to start at 9am and I left at 5:30pm, very hot day and there was a bit of delay.
‘Basically with my chemo injection, one of which hadn’t arrived, it’s got nothing to do with anything to do with the hospital team, it was the medics delivery, so yeah that was the delay.
‘But I’m feeling really positive but everything I keep eating tastes horrible. Everything tastes of metal, just like you told me, and every now and again I feel like the Incredible Hulk, I want to start moving furniture around, the dogs are keeping away from me because they sense that.’
Tracy concluded by thanking the NHS and sending love to other people fighting the disease.
She added: ‘So what I want to say the most is that I want to send everyone love who has started chemo, to those starting chemo tomorrow or done chemo and or is in this process with me I send love and courage.
‘And I found it ok today, the nurses are amazing and everyone who works there I just don’t know how they do it every day, they are obviously angels to have that patience with what I would call one of the most extreme jobs to do and yet they don’t get paid for that in the way that they should do. So let’s big up the NHS everyone.’
Last week, Tracy broke down in tears in an emotional video, as she revealed to her followers that she was set to start chemotherapy for breast cancer.
In a video posted on Instagram, Tracy shared the toll her cancer diagnosis has had on her, admitting: ‘I can’t go through this anymore.’
In the video, Tracy said: ‘I’m just going to be me, and my truth is… by the way, I’ve not shaved my hair off, I’ve just put a scarf on just because I’ve not done anything with it and I’m going to hospital.
‘Each morning I wake up and know that I have to go into hospital and receive more news, which has been going on for a long time, that unknown… I just think, “I can’t go through with this anymore”, but I’ve not even started my journey.
‘I’ve had a good cry. I’ll go in later today and I’ll meet some other ladies who will start the treatment with me – chemo.
‘And I’ll find out the date. 50 per cent of me wants to get going. I want to know that it’s being shrunk and the cancer is being dealt with.
‘When I wake up and I’ve got really bad headaches or I can feel another twinge in my other boob, I just think, “Oh, it’s moving!”
‘All forms of cancer are awful, most of the time, I get on with life but then I think that’s probably what we do.
‘But the fact is when you wake up in the morning and you think “It hasn’t gone away”. It isn’t like the addictions that I’ve recovered from by the grace of God. There appears to be a long road ahead, or a mountain.’
She shared at the time that doctors told her she would need chemotherapy after tests revealed she has HER2 in her cells.
HER2 is a protein that promotes cancer cell growth and is found in more aggressive types of the disease.
The actress added that after a course of chemotherapy, she hoped to have surgery to remove lumps and lymph glands, so more tests can be done, which could lead to further surgery before radiotherapy.
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 mammogram, 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
