Samantha Womack reveals how cancer battle forced her to spend savings on treatment

Samantha Womack has opened up about the impact of her breast cancer diagnosis and how it led to her using up her savings to fund treatment.

The actress, best known for playing Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders, was diagnosed with breast cancer, more specifically, Grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma, in August 2022 after acting on a "gut feeling" while starring in a West End production.

Samantha, 49 at the time of her diagnosis, had not found a lump or undergone a mammogram. Instead, after having a nagging feeling that something wasn't right, she followed her instincts and went for a private scan.

Speaking to the Express.co.uk, Samantha explained: "In between two shows, which is a hectic schedule, I just went and got an ultrasound. I had no signs, no lumps, no anything but when I saw this little kind of irregular-shaped shadow, which I knew wasn't good but my first thought was 'there you are'. I just remember those words in my head, which makes me believe that my body had been trying to communicate with me for a long time to tell me that something was not right."

Samantha, who now lives near Valencia, in Spain, underwent treatment and a lumpectomy after her dianosis. She continued: "I had a very few financial savings at that point because Covid had wiped us out. We hadn't been working for a long time and I just stopped my private health care. I wanted to try and stop any money going out, you know that we were hemorrhaging money, and about three months after I did that I got the diagnosis."

With what little money she had in the pot, Samantha ploughed into treatment, mixing private care with the NHS. She tells us: "I knew that I could fluctuate between private and NHS, and I knew that the NHS was under such pressure at that time. I thought I'm just gonna use my savings and I'm gonna have it taken out privately.

"I had the tumor and five lymph nodes removed, and it was found in the first lymph node. I had quite a lot of breast tissue taken but I kept both nipples. That kind of experience is really intrusive. Being female, our hair and our breasts are things that we rely on to feel feminine, so it's a whole myriad of jigsaw pieces."

Detailing the chemotherapy she recieved, Samantha recalls: "I had very strong chemotherapy, they call it 'red devil chemo' because it's the color of Lucozade and it needs a code to take out of a box, and two nurses to administer. It's really scary stuff. I had three rounds of that and I was due to have another three but I just couldn't any more, it was traumatic, and there are lots of radiotherapy."

Samantha revealed that although she wore a cold cap during treatment, she lost about a third of her hair. She said: "That first time you go to wash your hair and a huge piece comes out was heartbreaking."

Still able to joke, she added: "I was glad that I lived in Spain and in the mountains. I had lots of regrowth growing on the top of my head, I looked a bit like Pat Sharp! You learn to lose your vanity. I actually wouldn't have changed what's happened to me for the world because I've spent a lot of time by myself, I spent a lot of time not working and just as a human being."

She later returned to the NHS for further treatment. "I went back to the NHS because they're brilliant at cancer care, and I was treated at the Royal Marsden."

After six months, Samantha was told she was cancer-free. "I'll say I'm cancer-free as of right now, but I also know that, statistically, if you've had cancer there's probably a slightly greater risk that you'll get it again compared to somebody that hasn't had it."

Samantha now lives in Spain with her partner, Emmerdale actor Oliver Farnworth, but is heading back to the UK to start work on a new play very soon.

Thanks to the cancer, Samantha says her outlook on life has changed. She said: "After I'd finished treatment, I thought about overhauling my diet, saying 'I'm not having sugar', but what I've have really learned in this whole experience is just to be kind to myself. If I have a crap week, where I need to feel rubbish and I don't want to go outside and I want to eat ice cream, I'll do it and I don't have no apologiese to myself or to anyone else."

Samantha is now on a mission to educate women about their breast density and how it could affect getting a diagnosis. She explained: "No one mentioned breast density to me during any of my mammograms, I had never heard of it before. A mammogram may come back clear and no one would know to ask about the density of their breasts, which can affect what can be seen."

She continued: "There are four densities, A,B,C, and D. The first one is very fatty tissue, which is really easy to see tumor but D is so fibrous. The fibres are the same color as the tumors. You can often get an all clear because you've got a fibrous tissue. If your breast density is D, extremely dense, you might want to then go and have an MRI or an ultrasound. Women who have extremely dense breasts are six times more likely to get breast cancer, information like that is gold."

To raise awareness, Samantha has teamed up with GenesisCare, the UK's leading private cancer care provider, specialising in the treatment of complex cancers. Fronting their Keep Abreast of Your Breast Density campaign, which raises awareness of dense breast tissue and its impact on early cancer detection.

GenesisCare has launched a private screening service using breast MRI scans in Oxford and Windsor, aimed at helping women with dense breast tissue detect cancer early.