Actress Marlyne Barrett has vowed to fight against her cancer, having been diagnosed with ovarian and uterine cancer in July of this year.
The Chicago Med star has revealed that doctors found an American-football-sized tumour on her uterus as well as one in her left ovary.
Marlyne, 44, has opened up about her diagnosis, admitting that she will continue to fight against the disease as she wants to see her two young children, Joshuah-Jireh and Ahnne-N’Urya, 11 months, get married.
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Speaking about her shock diagnosis, the actress said: “The initial experience was a shock, a shock to my womanhood,” while explaining her family has no known history of ovarian or uterine cancer.
(Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
While doctors informed her that she would need “aggressive” chemotherapy before eventually needing a hysterectomy, she said told People “hunkered down”.
While chemotherapy often has side effects of people losing their hair, Marlyne revealed she shaved her hair herself, in front of her children so they could see “it was still Mommy”.
Speaking of her decision to continue her fight against the dreadful disease, she added that she takes things as they come, before saying: “I have a wave of emotion that comes, but it’s okay not to have it all together. You can’t tangibly hold onto fear. But I’m holding onto faith.
(Image: NBCUniversal)
“I find new strength to carry on every day because of [my children], I want to see them get married one day and I will.”
Marlyne joined the cast of Chicago Med as Maggie seven years ago and has since become a fan favourite.
She’s gone on to appear in the likes of Chicago Fire and Chicago PD – both of which are part of the same franchise.
The actress first started to notice symptoms while she was recovering from hernia surgery, explaining she had fluid in her abdomen that didn’t seem to go away.
(Image: NBCUniversal)
Marlyne revealed she looked as though she was about to give birth due to the fluid while also having shortness of breath but didn’t experience any pain.
Her diagnosis came just three months after her initial symptoms following her surgery.
Her character on the programme faced breast cancer, which she says gave her “courage” and felt a sense of “inevitability” to meet their hearts.
While she admits some people may fear their death, Marlyne says that we have “so much more strength” than we initially believe.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
