‘I thought I’d die’: EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison reveals secret womb cancer battle

29 April 2024, 08:38

Former EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison has opened up about her 'horrendous' secret battle with womb cancer.

Fergison, 58, who played Heather Trott in the soap from 2007 to 2012 opened up about receiving the ‘horrendous’ diagnosis nine years ago.

In a recent interview, the star shared that she thought she was going to die after being diagnosed with stage two womb cancer in 2015.

Fergison said she’s open up about her battle now in the hope it might “empower other women”.

She told OK! Magazine: “There were some dark moments, especially at night, when I thought, 'Am I going to die? Am I going to leave my husband without a wife, my son without a mum?'

“But the time is right to talk about it all now. I'm hoping my story might empower other women.

“I've been through a lot but I'm still here. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.”

The soap actress received her diagnosis after attending a routine smear test, which came back all clear.

But she later started suffering from back pain and began spotting blood and so went to see her GP.

She was referred for tests and a biopsy at a local hospital in Kent and four months later was diagnosed with stage two womb cancer.

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Fergison said of the moment she was diagnosed: “I was in absolute shock; stunned to the core. I couldn't believe the doctor was talking about me.”

Following X-rays, she was recommended a full hysterectomy a few weeks later.

The star spoke about the specific challenges this presented too, as she had wanted another child but this meant they no longer had that option to go through that route.

She currently lives with her husband of 12 years, Yassine and has a son Alex, 24, from her first marriage to Jamshed Saddiqi.

She had not long been married to her husband Yassine when she received the diagnosis, saying she was left upset that “any thought of having a child together had been taken away”.

The star only opened up to a few people throughout her battle, including former co-stars Dame Barbara Windsor, June Brown, and Steve McFadden.

She also told Paul O’Grady and Julian Clary.

Last year, Fergison was finally given the all-clear.

It comes after the star revealed she had been rushed to hospital earlier this month after being left “in complete agony”.

Sharing a statement in The Mirror, the star said she was being treated for an infection after experiencing immense pain.

After six antibiotic drips, however, she was later sent “home and on the road to recovery”.

The star said her 24-hour stayover in A&E was an “eye-opening experience” after having already spent the last nine years in and out of the hospital due to “serious health conditions”.

“I was treated for an infection with six hourly antibiotics IV drips and at times was in complete agony,” her statement read.

“I'm glad to say the infection is subsiding and I am now I am home and on the road to recovery. My family have been by my side throughout this whole ordeal.

“Spending 24 hours in A&E was more than an eye-opening experience. The pure abuse and overrun conditions that our health workers have to endure was painful to watch.

“The lack of appreciation that was showed by some people within my time there was very difficult to watch.”

In a clip shared online after her stay, Fergison thanked NHS staff for their care, saying: “I've seen things in the last 24 hours I can't unsee. I've been in complete agony.

“I’ve been made a million times better by the angels that are all of the NHS staff which I wanna thank, like, big time. When people say they don't get paid enough - they really don't get paid enough.

“We've got a broken system. It's gone to pot. It's shot. But it's still amazing and we still have it - just, by a thread.”