After shooting to stardom at the age of just 18 representing Britain on Eurovision, Samantha Womack went onto become one of the most recognised characters on EastEnders.
The actress, 52, later moved into the world of theatre, starring in a number of West End productions including The Girl On The Train and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
But while her career continued to flourish, Samantha was fighting a ‘terrifying’ battle away from the stage with breast cancer.
In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, she has now opened up about the illness, revealing that the ‘voice in the back of her head’ saved her life.
Samantha – who has teamed up GenesisCare for their Keep Abreast of your Breast Density campaign – discovered that she may have breast cancer during a routine check-up in between appearances as the White Witch on the West End in 2021.
Samantha Womack detailed her ‘terrifying’ breast cancer battle and the ‘mad’ performance she gave on the West End mere hours after scan in an exclusive interview with MailOnline
Samantha discovered that she may have breast cancer during a routine check-up in between appearances as the White Witch on the West End in 2021 (pictured on stage)
‘I didn’t have any lumps or feel ill,’ she said, ‘I’ve never been a doctor person so in the middle of two shows I went for a check-up not expecting to find anything.
‘So 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.
‘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.’
While nothing had been confirmed, the mother-of-two says she ‘knew’ that she had cancer after the first scan.
Yet she had to get back on stage and continue performing, and recalls going ‘mad’ on-stage as the reality of the situation sunk in.
‘I hadn’t thought the whole thing through, I think we all knew that it was cancer but it hadn’t been confirmed yet,’ she said.
‘I didn’t have any time to think about going back to the theatre to do a second show. I was playing the White Witch, and the play’s all about life and death and how close those two things are.
‘For my entrance, I was lifted into the sky on this machine and all of this snow is coming down, there’s cello music playing.
‘I just remember having this moment of floating in all this snow, looking out into all this black space – I couldn’t process what was happening.
‘It was sinking in on-stage in front of everybody. I was mad that evening, I was doing all kinds of crazy things. In a way I was letting go of everything.’
The actress became one of EastEnders’ most recognised characters during a 10-year stint on the show as Ronnie Mitchell (pictured on the soap with Rita Simons)
Samantha was later diagnosed with an ‘aggressive’ high grade three form of breast cancer which had already started spreading and – if identified later – could easily have proved fatal.
She underwent both chemotherapy and radiotherapy, describing the treatment as a ‘rollercoaster’.
Samantha added: ‘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.
‘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.’
Samantha was relieved to hear she was cancer-free six months after diagnosis – but admits the disease could have been a ‘death sentence’ if discovered any later.
Three years on from her recovery and the actress is now working with Genesis Care to help educate woman going through breast cancer diagnosis.
Working on their Keep Abreast of Breast Density campaign, Samantha is encouraging women to ask vital questions during mammograms in order to get the information needed to fight the disease.
In particular, the EastEnders star is hoping to raise awareness about breast density.
Women with extremely dense breasts are shockingly six times more likely than those with fatty breasts to get breast cancer.
Samantha was later diagnosed with an ‘aggressive’ high grade three form of breast cancer which had already started spreading and – if identified later – could easily have proved fatal
‘Cancer-free’s a weird term,’ Samantha said, ‘we all have cancer in our cells all the time, so there’s always a chance it can come back.
‘To get a proper diagnosis you need proper information. There are four types of breast density, A, B C and D, but if you’re extremely dense it’s really difficult to spot a tumour.
‘There are options though, if there’s anything bothering you at any time, you can instigate these investigations on your own. GenesisCare are empowering women to ask the right questions, and they will tell you what your breast density is.
‘Early diagnosis is the difference between cancer sounding like a death sentence and like something you can work through.’
Having beaten cancer, Samantha says that she now feels ‘better’ than ever.
‘I feel more centered than I’ve ever been before,’ the mother-of-two added.
‘I’d basically been constantly working non-stop since I was a kid, so cancer gave me that time to reflect.
‘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.’
Samantha Womack is partnering with private cancer care provider GensisCare to encourage women to Keep Abreast of their Breast Density.
For more information on Dense Breast and Rapid Breast MRI scans, visit www.genesiscare.com/uk/breast_density_awareness
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and affects more than two MILLION women a year
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Each year in the UK there are more than 55,000 new cases, and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women. In the US, it strikes 266,000 each year and kills 40,000. But what causes it and how can it be treated?
What is breast cancer?
It comes from a cancerous cell which develops in the lining of a duct or lobule in one of the breasts.
When the breast cancer has spread into surrounding tissue it is called ‘invasive’. Some people are diagnosed with ‘carcinoma in situ’, where no cancer cells have grown beyond the duct or lobule.
Most cases develop in those over the age of 50 but younger women are sometimes affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, though this is rare.
Staging indicates how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body.
The cancerous cells are graded from low, which means a slow growth, to high, which is fast-growing. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after they have first been treated.
What causes breast cancer?
A cancerous tumour starts from one abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. It is thought that something damages or alters certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiply ‘out of control’.
Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase the chance, such as genetics.
What are the symptoms of breast cancer?
The usual first symptom is a painless lump in the breast, although most are not cancerous and are fluid filled cysts, which are benign.
The first place that breast cancer usually spreads to is the lymph nodes in the armpit. If this occurs you will develop a swelling or lump in an armpit.
How is breast cancer diagnosed?
- Initial assessment: A doctor examines the breasts and armpits. They may do tests such as a mammography, a special x-ray of the breast tissue which can indicate the possibility of tumours.
- Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer.
If you are confirmed to have breast cancer, further tests may be needed to assess if it has spread. For example, blood tests, an ultrasound scan of the liver or a chest X-ray.
How is breast cancer treated?
Treatment options which may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Often a combination of two or more of these treatments are used.
- Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or the removal of the affected breast depending on the size of the tumour.
- Radiotherapy: A treatment which uses high energy beams of radiation focused on cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells, or stops them from multiplying. It is mainly used in addition to surgery.
- Chemotherapy: A treatment of cancer by using anti-cancer drugs which kill cancer cells, or stop them from multiplying.
- Hormone treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the ‘female’ hormone oestrogen, which can stimulate the cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments which reduce the level of these hormones, or prevent them from working, are commonly used in people with breast cancer.
How successful is treatment?
The outlook is best in those who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small, and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumour in an early stage may then give a good chance of cure.
The routine mammography offered to women between the ages of 50 and 71 means more breast cancers are being diagnosed and treated at an early stage.
For more information visit breastcancernow.org or call its free helpline on 0808 800 6000
