Samantha Womack says she was diagnosed with breast cancer after ‘random check-up’

The actor revealed her diagnosis in August

Samantha Womack has revealed she was diagnosed with breast cancer following a “random check”.

The former EastEnders actor announced she had breast cancer in August after Olivia Newton-John died from the disease.

In an appearance on ITV’s This Morning on Tuesday (8 November), Womack told hosts Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield that she had no reason to suspect she had cancer prior to her diagnosis.

“It was really incredible because I didn’t find a lump, I didn’t feel unwell,” Womack explained.

“There had been a lot of illness around our friends and family, and I actually just thought I’ll do a random check. I had an ultrasound, and it showed a little shadow.”

At this stage, doctors suspected it could have been a cyst, but carried out further tests.

“And then I had further investigations and then I was diagnosed,” Womack said, adding: “I was lucky it was less than two cm.”

“I had a lumpectomy – which is just a piece of tissue removed – and five lymph nodes [removed] and [the cancer] was prevalent in one [lymph node].”

Fans were quick to send Womack messages of support.

“Samantha Womack on @thismorning,what an inspiration. Such a sweet, lovely lady she is, wish you all the best,” one person said.

“So good to see you on the show today. Thank you for sharing. It does help knowing that others are on a similar journey,” another wrote.

A third person said: “Wishing you a speedy recovery.”

Womack started chemotherapy for the cancer in October. In an update shared to Instagram, Womack said she was struggling with migraines after the treatment, which she described as “Red Devil chemo”.

Womack posted a photograph of herself smiling at her partner, Oliver Farnworth, as he placed a large paella on the dinner table in front of her.

Writing in the caption, the actor said she had started to get her appetite back.

“Oli made this on an open fire in Valencia. Struggling with migraines at the moment, but Xena the rescue dog by my side, keeping her Topaz eyes on me……...”

Red Devil is a nickname given to chemotherapy drug doxorubicin because of its bright red colour.