Emmerdale actor Malandra Burrows says her dog alerted her to breast cancer before her diagnosis

‘If it were not for Teddy I would never have known about this,’ Burrows said

Actor Malandra Burrows has claimed that her dog helped to save her life by alerting her to cancer in her left breast.

The former Emmerdale star shared that she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer last month, after being diagnosed in February.

Burrows, who played Kathy Glover in the long-running soap, decided to go public with her health condition to help raise awareness.

In a new interview, the Nineties soap star explained that she got the first indication that something was wrong in January after her dog, Teddy, was unusually attentive to her.

“She insisted on lying on my chest and was constantly nuzzling me,” Burrows told The Mirror of her one-year-old border terrier.

“She just kept looking up at me, staring in a very strange way, then without any warning, she thumped me with her head on my left breast so hard it brought tears to my eyes.”

According to Burrows, the impact of Teddy’s nudge was so painful that it prompted her to look at her breast to see if there was any visible injury.

Jay Benedict (left) as Doug Hamilton and Malandra Burrows (right) as Kathy Glover in Emmerdale in 1997. (Photo by ITV/REX (9222294aw))

“It hurt so much that before I went to bed I checked to see if there was any bruising, which was the moment I felt something that had never been there before,” she explained.

Initially, she’d believed that it had been a swollen gland, caused by the dog’s knock. But after the swelling remained a couple of days later, she contacted her GP who advised her to come in for a check.

She was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer some weeks later and is currently undergoing chemotherapy.

“If it were not for Teddy I would never have known about this and I honestly believe she saved my life,” Burrows added.

“She’s a truly wonderful little character, we have such a strong bond and I’m so grateful for her. I’ve even forgiven her for chewing up the sun lounger.”