Nicole Eggert Says Producing Baywatch Docuseries Has Given Her 'Purpose' Amid Breast Cancer Diagnosis (Exclusive)

Nicole Eggert is straining her health day by day due to her breast cancer diagnosis.

The actress who played Summer Quinn Baywatchrevealed that she was diagnosed with stage 2 cribriform breast cancer in early December 2023. Now, she tells PEOPLE that she’s “just trying to stay positive every day.”

“I’m on a wild roller coaster ride. There are ups and downs, and I try to wake up every day really positive and ready to deal with whatever lies ahead, to be honest with you,” she says while discussing her latest project After Baywatch: A Moment in the Sun, documentary series premiering August 28 on Hulu.

Nicole Eggert as Summer Quinn in ‘Baywatch’.

Fremantle Media/Shutterstock

The documentaries, which Eggert helped produce, bring to life the cast of the hit TV phenomenon from the ’90s, which at its peak attracted billions of viewers worldwide. In the four-part project, the cast reflects on the highs and lows of their time on the beaches of Southern California.

“I hope people give the actors and all the people involved, honestly, the respect that they really deserve. I think everyone kind of brushed it off and said, ‘Oh, it’s just another pretty face in a red suit,’ ” says Eggert. “I’ve heard ‘disposable’ used a lot. I don’t agree with that. I hope people can see them for people who [we] are behind the scenes because it’s a group of great people.”

Nicole Eggert shaves her head after being diagnosed with breast cancer

Working on documentaries over the past five years has also proved very cathartic for the former actress, especially as she has been battling a breast cancer diagnosis for the past eight months.

“Having a young daughter and this project has been a huge motivation for me to not just sit and think about my health and well-being. It gives me purpose,” says Eggert, who is mother to Keegan, 13, as well as grown daughter Dilyn, 25. It keeps me going every day. I think the weather is always there for a reason. It was a big distraction, and my daughters kept me on my toes.”

After her diagnosis in December 2023, Eggert spoke with PEOPLE about how her health has affected her children.

“[Dilyn’s] I am an adult, but I have a 12-year-old child at home, for whom I am the only caregiver. I don’t have a family. I have nothing,” she said, reflecting on the “horror” on Keegan’s face when she told her her diagnosis. “I immediately realized that there is no way to succumb to this. This is something I have to go through. This is something I have to overcome. She needs me more than anything and anyone.”

Carmen Electra, David Chokachi, Alexandra Paul, Traci Bingham, Nicole Eggert, Billy Warlock, Jeremy Jackson and Erika Eleniak at the 2024 TCA Summer Portrait Studio in July 2024.

Maarten de Boer/Contour by Getty

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On July 26, Eggert posted a video on Instagram sharing a positive update with her followers.

“I just left a meeting with my surgeons, and the words they used were that I had a complete complete response,” she explained.

Eggert continued, “My body has completely responded to chemotherapy. There is no detectable cancer in that area and I have the green light to go ahead and schedule surgery. This will be a mastectomy and reconstruction, and this will be my own journey, but it is it worked.

Nicole Eggert shares a selfie in the midst of cancer treatment.

Nicole Eggert/Instagram

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Eggert’s history with Baywatch dates from 1992, when she starred in the series at only 18 years old. She stayed in the series for two seasons.

Looking back on her time on the show, Eggert now says, “I quit Baywatch. [But] running away from things doesn’t make them go away. As a young person, I kind of ran away from it,” she admits, “but I also don’t regret anything. I don’t believe in them.”

After Baywatch: A Moment in the Sun premieres August 28 on Hulu.

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Source: HIS Education