Beverley Callard has issued a cancer update after undergoing removal surgery.
The actress, 69, revealed that whilst surgeons successfully removed her breast cancer, the disease had spread to one of her lymph nodes.
The 69-year-old, famous for her role as Rovers Return landlady Liz McDonald in Coronation Street, shared the update with followers on Instagram on Thursday.
Her consultant from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital confirmed the operation “went really well” and medical staff had managed to “cut the cancer out.”
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However, examination of the removed tissue showed cancer cells present in one lymph node.
The sample has now been dispatched to America for further testing to establish how aggressive the cancer is, with Ms Callard expecting results within approximately two weeks.
The former soap star first disclosed her early-stage breast cancer diagnosis in February.
Ms Callard explained the situation using an analogy her consultant had shared with her, describing lymph nodes as being “like a staircase” where cancer “tends to climb up the stairs” if it spreads.
“That’s oversimplifying it, but just to help explain,” she told her followers. “And they took three, and the cancer is in the first lymph node. It’s not in the second two and three. So it is there, but it’s only small.”
The actress had three lymph nodes removed during her operation in early March as a precautionary measure, approximately two weeks after announcing her diagnosis.
The discovery that cancer cells were confined to just the first node offered some reassurance, though Ms Callard acknowledged the finding still represented a concerning development in her treatment journey.
The outcome of these American tests will determine Ms Callard’s treatment pathway going forward.
“If it’s aggressive, then I’ll have to undergo chemo first and then after that, radiotherapy,” she explained. “If it’s not aggressive, I will have the radiotherapy as was planned.”
The waiting period for results means another fortnight of uncertainty for the actress, who has already endured what the Daily Mail described as “an agonising two-month wait” since her initial diagnosis.
“So it’s waiting again, but never mind. That’s just the way it is,” Ms Callard said, accepting the situation with characteristic resilience.
The distinction between the two treatment options is significant, with chemotherapy representing a more intensive approach reserved for cancers deemed to pose a higher risk of spreading further.
Ms Callard expressed mixed emotions about the latest developments, describing the news as bittersweet.
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“So in one way it was kind of good news that the surgeries worked well which I’m really pleased about but because it’s in the lymph nodes it’s still a worry and still a waiting time which is an absolute pain but there we go,” she said.
The actress, who can currently be seen on the pre-recorded I’m A Celebrity…South Africa series, has been transparent with supporters throughout her cancer journey since going public in February.
She concluded her update by expressing gratitude to those following her story: “I’m sure loads of you have been through the same thing. So that’s the state of play and thank you for caring I really appreciate that very much indeed.”
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