HOLLYOAKS star Ali Bastian has been diagnosed with stage two breast cancer, leaving her in “complete shock”.
The actress, who also appeared in the BBC One series Doctors and took part in the seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing, found the lump while breastfeeding her daughter Isabella.
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Ali Bastian revealed that she is being treated for breast cancerCredit: Splash News
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Hollyoaks star Ali Bastian with her first daughter IslaCredit: Instagram
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Ali played teacher Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap Credit: Lime Pictures
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Ali appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2009. Credits: Handout
The 42-year-old star is undergoing weeks of chemotherapy and is due to undergo a mastectomy and radiotherapy early next year.
She said OK! magazine: “It was a total shock. I have mornings when I wake up and forget… and then suddenly I remember. I’m still trying to process it.”
Doctors initially believed it might be a blocked duct, but after antibiotics failed to stop the pain, she had tests at a specialist clinic which revealed she had cancer.
Her husband David O’Mahony said: “I was with the children and Ali poked her head in behind the neck and said the biopsy showed cancer cells.
Read more about breast cancer
“She said it in the most subtle way so the girls wouldn’t tingle. I saw how scared and shocked she was.
“It’s so tempting to try to ‘positively’ make your way through news like this, but it hit us like a sledgehammer.
“I just felt it was so unfair that Ali got this hand.”
Ali played the character of Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks from 2001 to 2007.
Earlier this year, she moved from London to rural Ireland with her husband and two daughters, Isla and Isabella.
Ali revealed in a post on Instagram that she had suffered “massive burnout” from living in London and the challenges of her second pregnancy, which were some of the reasons the family left the capital.
“It was hard,” Brenda Edwards says of the shock diagnosis of breast cancer
Ali received the devastating news of cancer in June.
He is now receiving care at the Orchid Center at University Hospital Cork.
Ali admitted she still sometimes feels “scared” about the future, but praised all the medical staff she met during the process.
She added that the advice the nurses gave her was helpful, along with keeping a diary of her experiences.
Ali said: “I feel like they treat me like one of their own.
What are the signs of breast cancer?
Signs and symptoms
Be aware of breast cancer symptoms that include:
- A lump or swelling in the breast, upper chest, or armpit
- A change in the skin, such as wrinkling or dimpling
- Change in breast color – the breast may appear red or inflamed
- A change in the nipple, for example, has become inverted (inverted)
- Rash or crusting around the nipple
- Unusual fluid (discharge) from any nipple
- Changes in breast size or shape
By itself, breast pain is usually not a sign of breast cancer. But watch out for breast or armpit pain that is present 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 is no special way to check your breasts and you don’t need any training. At Breast Cancer Now, they say, it’s as easy as TLC: touch, look, check:
- Touch your breasts: can you feel anything new or unusual?
- Looking for changes: Does anything look different to you?
- Check with your general practitioner for any new or unusual changes
“It was as if I was picked up. I was delighted with the care and kindness – every kind word and cup of tea means a lot.
“We love it here.”
But she said that her hair started to fall out after the start of chemotherapy, but that for now she only cuts it, with the help of David, and that she hasn’t shaved it completely yet.
How to check your breasts
It is important to regularly check your breasts for possible changes. Breast tissue extends all the way to your collarbone and over your armpits, so it’s important to check those areas as well.
If you feel or see any changes in your breasts, always contact your GP.
Charity CoppaFeel! recommends checking your breasts once a month to quickly spot any changes.
Breasts naturally change as part of your monthly menstrual cycle, so you should get to know your breasts, how they feel and what changes they usually go through so you know if anything is out of the ordinary.
Five-step verification
There’s a five-step self-check you can do at home to check for changes.
Step One: Start by looking in the mirror, facing it with your hands on your hips and your shoulders straight. You should look for any dimpling, wrinkling, raised skin, redness, pain, rash or changes in the nipple.
Step Two: Still looking in the mirror, raise both arms above your head and check for the same changes.
Step Three: With your hands still above your head, check to see if any fluid is coming from your nipples. This may include a milky, yellow or watery fluid or blood.
Step Four: While lying down, check each breast with your opposite hand. Using several fingers, keeping them flat and together, go in small circular motions around the breast. Make sure you feel the entire breast by going from top to bottom in these small circles. It helps to develop a system or pattern to ensure that every inch is covered. Use light pressure for the skin and tissue just below, medium pressure for the tissue in the center of the breast, and firm pressure to feel the tissue in the back, all the way to the ribs.
Step Five: Feel your breasts while standing or sitting, using the same small circular motions.
She added that she does not like to say that she is in a “battle” with cancer, but says that it is a process to which she must “adapt”.
But she praised her former Hollyoaks co-stars, including Sarah Jayne Dunn, Carley Stenson and Jodi Albert, who also lives in Ireland, for coming together and offering their support.
She remains positive about the future and said she is looking forward to returning to acting once she “comes out on the other side”.
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Ali attends the premiere of Channel 4’s ‘Mog’s Christmas’ at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on December 3, 2023 with her two daughtersCredit: Getty
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Ali Bastian with husband David O’Mahoney in an Instagram post Credit: Instagram/Ali Bastian
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Source: HIS Education