Emmerdale star Oliver Farnworth gave a heartfelt update on fellow EastEnders actress Samantha Womack’s battle with breast cancer during an appearance on Lorraine on Thursday.
The 51-year-old former soap opera star revealed she was breast cancer-free in December 2022, five months after her diagnosis.
At the time he was undergoing radiation therapy “to try to destroy any remaining cells” and was receiving “ongoing treatment ‘as a preventative measure.'”
Now her actor boyfriend Oliver, 41, has revealed she is doing “incredibly well” and said he is “amazed” by her “strength and determination”.
Speaking to Christine Lampard on the ITV morning show, the soap star blew a kiss to her partner through the screen and said: “He’s doing incredibly well. I have to say a big hello and lots of love.”
Emmerdale star Oliver Farnworth gave a heartfelt update on his partner and EastEnders actress Samantha Womack’s battle with breast cancer during an appearance on Lorraine on Thursday.
The former soap opera star, 51, revealed she was breast cancer-free in December 2022, five months after her diagnosis (couple pictured above in 2019)
“She has been very strong and determined despite everything. I wonder if when she was diagnosed she didn’t have any symptoms, it was a routine check-up and she felt something, but she couldn’t feel anything physically.
“We were very lucky because they detected a fairly high grade of cancer and we were able to treat it fairly quickly.”
Speaking about her treatment, she added: ‘But then she went through chemotherapy and radio, and those were her last radio sessions and she was determined to finish the show she was on at the time – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.’
“And that coincided with our move to Spain. She was having radiotherapy, moving house and doing a show in the West End, and she faced it with courage and strength, with great dignity and determination. I admired her so much.”
Oliver and Christine ended the segment by raising awareness and urging women to be aware of abnormalities in their breasts.
The TV presenter commented: ‘It was a difficult time, but as you say, she was prepared to try and cope with it somehow because she had a lot to do at the time.
“That’s why it’s so important to keep talking about our Change And Check campaign, which started here on this show a few years ago. I know Samantha will feel very passionate about it.”
Oliver ended the interview by pleading: “If you get a message for a routine mammogram or something, just go.”
Chatting to Christine Lampard on the ITV morning show, the soap star blew a kiss to her partner through the screen and gushed: “She’s doing incredibly well.”
Oliver said: “We were very lucky because they detected a fairly high grade of cancer and we were able to treat it fairly quickly.”
Oliver and Samantha began dating in 2019, a year after Samantha split from fellow actor Mark Womack, 63, whom she was with for 19 years and with whom she shares two adult children.
Speaking about her health in December 2022, Samantha said: OK! Magazine:Now I’m just doing a treatment while I go back to work, as a precaution… We feel much better than we were.
‘My treatment for breast cancer is continuing. Recovery from surgery was quite difficult, simply because it is very painful when they remove your lymph nodes. There are some mobility issues at first.’
She recalled: “The first round of chemotherapy was quite tough really, it was quite toxic,” before adding: “I had radiotherapy for a while to try to destroy any remaining cells.”
In November 2022, Samantha revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer during a “random check” and said the disease had “attacked” her “femininity”.
Speaking on This Morning, Samantha said she did not find any lumps when she was diagnosed with the disease four months earlier and that her cancer was discovered at a random check.
“It was really amazing because I didn’t find any lumps, I didn’t feel sick,” she explained.
‘There had been a lot of illness around our friends and family and I thought I would get a spot check and I had an ultrasound, and it showed a little shadow – at that point it could be anything, a cyst… then I had further investigations and then that diagnosis.’
Samantha and Oliver began dating in 2019, a year after Samantha split from fellow actor Mark Womack, 63, with whom she was for 19 years and shares two adult children.
In November 2022, Samantha revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer during a “random check” and said the disease had “attacked” her “femininity”.
Samantha described herself as “very lucky” because the lump was less than 2cm and she was able to have a lumpectomy to remove the piece of tissue and five lymph nodes.
She went on to describe breast cancer as a disease that “attacks” your “body” and your “femininity” and urged other women to get checked.
She said: ‘Breast cancer is strange, it attacks your body and your femininity, your hair, your breasts, all these beautiful women of all ages.
“Many women should have medical check-ups starting at age 30. It’s an important message that needs to be spread and that people should get checked as well.”
She also described battling cancer as “scary” but praised the treatments now available to treat the disease.
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, affecting more than two MILLION women each year.
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. In the UK, there are more than 55,000 new cases each year and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women. In the US, it affects 266,000 women each year and kills 40,000. But what causes it and how can it be treated?
What is breast cancer?
It comes from a cancer cell that develops in the lining of a duct or lobule of one of the breasts.
When breast cancer has spread to surrounding tissue, it is called “invasive.” Some people are diagnosed with “carcinoma in situ,” in which no cancer cells have grown beyond the duct or lobule.
Most cases develop in people over 50, but sometimes younger women are also affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, although this is rare.
Staging tells you how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage, and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body.
Cancer cells are classified from low grade, meaning slow growth, to high grade, meaning fast growth. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after they have been treated for the first time.
What causes breast cancer?
A cancerous tumor originates from an abnormal cell. It is not known for certain why a cell becomes cancerous. It is thought that something damages or alters certain genes in the cell. This causes the cell to become abnormal and multiply “out of control.”
Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase the likelihood, such as genetics.
What are the symptoms of breast cancer?
The first common symptom is a painless lump in the breast, although most are not cancerous and are fluid-filled cysts, which are benign.
The first place that breast cancer usually spreads is to the lymph nodes in the armpit. If this happens, a swelling or lump will form in the armpit.
How is breast cancer diagnosed?
- Initial evaluation: Your doctor examines your breasts and armpits. You may have tests such as a mammogram, a special X-ray of breast tissue that can indicate the possibility of tumors.
- Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer.
If you are confirmed to have breast cancer, further tests may be needed to assess whether it has spread. These may include blood tests, an ultrasound of your liver or a chest X-ray.
How is breast cancer treated?
Treatment options that may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormonal treatment. Often a combination of two or more of these treatments is used.
- Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or removal of the affected breast depending on the size of the tumor.
- Radiation therapy: Treatment that uses high-energy rays aimed at cancer tissue. This kills cancer cells or stops them from dividing. It is mainly used together with surgery.
- Chemotherapy: Treatment of cancer using anticancer drugs that kill cancer cells or stop them from dividing.
- Hormonal treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the “female” hormone called estrogen, which can stimulate cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments that reduce the level of these hormones or prevent their action are commonly used in patients with breast cancer.
How successful is the treatment?
The prognosis is better for patients who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumor at an early stage may offer a good chance of cure.
Routine mammography offered to women aged 50 to 70 means more breast cancers are diagnosed and treated at an early stage.
For more information, visit breastcancernow.org or call their toll-free helpline at 0808 800 6000