Samantha Womack has reflected on her experience with breast cancer.
In August 2022, the former EastEnders star announced her diagnosis with an ‘aggressive’ form of breast cancer. Six months after receiving her diagnosis, Samantha was confirmed to be cancer-free.
Now, three years on from her treatment, Samantha has been opening up about how it affected her.
Speaking to MailOnline, the 52-year-old recalled that she went for a routine check-up in between appearances on the West End in late 2021, in a production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
“I went for the ultrasound and there was a little screen on the wall in the doctors' room, looking at it afterwards we saw this little black shadow that wasn't a circle. My step-dad is a doctor and I knew that most things natural are circular. Everyone just went quiet,” Samantha explained.
“In my brain, I did think, ‘There you are’. I do feel like somewhere in our brains, our intuition is important. I've learnt to listen to that voice in my head as it basically saved my life,” she confessed.
The soap star was later diagnosed with breast cancer, which had already started spreading. Samantha subsequently underwent both chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
“Going through treatment is suddenly just so adrenaline-fueled. All of a sudden you're hearing words and terms you've never heard before. You're going to appointments you've never been to before. Things are happening to your body that feel weird,” the mother-of-two detailed.
“It's all a blur to me looking back. I remember some things like coming back home and smelling the chemotherapy on my skin. I love smells so that was terrible, I hated that,” she revealed.
After being cancer-free for almost three years now, Samantha later described how it has changed her life.
“I feel more centered than I've ever been before. I'd basically been constantly working non-stop since I was a kid, so cancer gave me that time to reflect,” she admitted.
“I just feel better, I feel calmer, I feel happier. I'm able to work out what idiots I want to be around and what idiots I don't much more quickly now. It feels nice,” she concluded.
