Tracy Shaw has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Tracy Shaw diagnosed with breast cancer
The former Coronation Street actress – who played Maxine Peacock in the ITV soap from 1995 to 2003 – took to Instagram on Friday (24.04.26) to share her diagnosis and revealed she will need five months of chemotherapy before having surgery.
Tracy, 52, told her followers in a video: "I have come on just to explain a situation that is happening in my life. I have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
“Originally I was going to be having surgery in two weeks, but because my results have come back that I am HER2 positive (positive for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2), it means I have to have chemo for five months before then hopefully surgery to have the lumps removed and take the lymph glands out so they can do some more tests. And possibly more surgery before radiotherapy.”
She thanked her fans for checking in with her after she took time off social media to come to terms with her diagnosis privately.
She said: “Thank you for messaging me to check how I am because I haven't been present on Instagram. That was due to during Lent I came off scrolling, I came off social media and put my phone down.
“I spent some time away from technology which has helped with dealing with this news.”
Tracy also admitted she has struggled with the idea of losing her hair but is determined to beat her cancer.
She said: “It doesn't mean it's been easy coming to terms with, and I know it sounds really trivial, but losing my hair.
“I am truly grateful that I have this opportunity to be able to hopefully be free from cancer as well.”
Tracy also revealed in her video that she is on a 12-step programme, having “recovered from many addictions”.
She went on: “Anorexia, bulimia, alcoholism, drug addiction, co-dependency, love addiction, you name it, I have been addicted to it and I have recovered from it.”
She captioned her post: “My diagnosis of breast cancer. So the journey begins... Love to everyone who is also going through this journey, looking forward to hearing from you all, especially you amazing survivors.”
According to the NHS, HER2 is a protein that controls cell growth; in some cancers, too much HER2 causes cells to divide and spread faster.