09 May 2023 , 12:28
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Samantha Womack has issued a plea to young women all over the UK and Ireland to check their breasts after her breast cancer diagnosis.
The former EastEnders actress, 50, who played Veronica 'Ronnie' Mitchell on the BBC One soap made the plea during an appearance on Loose Women on Tuesday.
The actress, who has recently been given the all clear on her cancer journey, urged young women and men across the nation to check for lumps and unusual symptoms - reiterating that cancer can strike at any age.
Samantha who shared her diagnosis last summer, revealed that she has been inundated with messages from young women who are also going through a breast cancer diagnosis.
"Please check yourselves - young people too. It's so important, please, please, it happens to young people too," Samantha said while on the Loose Women panel.
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Samantha is now cancer freeBack in December, Samantha revealed that she was cancer free, just five months after revealing she had been diagnosed with the devastating disease.
Samantha was diagnosed with cancer in June 2022 but previously admitted that she had not spotted any symptoms and a random health check led to doctors discovering a 'little shadow'.
The actress said: "Now I'm just having some treatment as I go back to work, as a prevention – it was crazy, I was doing The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – the producers there were amazing and gave me time off.
"We're feeling a lot better than we were," she told OK! Magazine.
Samantha joined the Loose Women panel todayReflecting on her ordeal, she added: "My treatment is ongoing for breast cancer, the surgery was quite difficult to recover from just because it's quite tender when you have lymph nodes removed, there's a few mobility issues at the beginning.
"The first round of chemotherapy was pretty hardcore really, it was quite toxic – we were lucky because I got to recover in Spain, Ollie and Wallie were picking me up from the airport in Valencia.
"It was in the middle of a thunderstorm and I'd just had the treatment and these guys picked me up."
Samantha explained that the 'turnaround' for her diagnosis was 'quite quick' after having an ultrasound scan out of precaution, admitting she was 'lucky'.
Samantha put out the plea to young womenShe shared her news in August following the death of Grease legend, Olivia Newton-John.
Reflecting on why she decided to pay tribute to Olivia while sharing her own diagnosis, the Kingsman actress said: "I'd been with Olivia, just for dinner after a show I'd done, I played Sandy in Grease.
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"It was just at the beginning of her diagnosis and what struck me was her journey had been 30 years and she was at the end and I was just at the beginning, and it took me back," she explained.
"I felt very moved by it, I thought, 'I want to share it, I want to talk to people, I want to put it out there' and it was amazing, the love that came back. I felt empowered by it."