BBC EastEnders star struggles to process cancer news months after wife's diagnosis
EastEnders actress Heather Peace has opened up about the 'no processing' of her heartbreaking cancer diagnosis. It came after her wife was also diagnosed with the devastating disease.
Heather, famed for her role as Eve Unwin in the BBC soap, publicly announced her breast cancer diagnosis in May earlier this year. Having already undergone treatment, Heather revealed on Instagram she had "been on quite a road for many months now".
"I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the beginning of October. Since then I've undergone surgery and recovery over the Christmas period and today my chemotherapy journey ended. To conclude – I've just picked up my medal," she shared to social media at the time.
Now, as she prepares to start radiotherapy, Heather reveals that her partner Ellie Dickinson received the same news earlier in the year according to reports by the Manchester Evening News.
"Her breast cancer was a smaller, aggressive lump, so she had a lumpectomy and then radiotherapy," she said, according to the Mirror.
"Of course then I come along with my 12 cm lump, absolutely ginormous, and mastectomy, chemotherapy, just about to go into radiotherapy. She's like 'Even that you have to do bigger'. It's like 'Hold my beer'."
Parents to Annie, 10, and eight-year-old twins Jesse and Lola, the news was devastating for the couple. "There was no processing," Heather confessed.
After noticing a change in her nipple and finding her own lump, Heather admits she tried to delay getting checked due to her EastEnders filming schedule.
Urged by his wife Ellie to seek immediate medical attention, they were stunned when Heather was diagnosed with breast cancer just three hours after consulting a doctor.
"I swear everybody looked at me, it might be my imagination, but I felt like a dead woman walking," Heather confessed. "I honestly did because it was so big and so quick that they told us and the seriousness and gravity with which I was told."
The devastating diagnosis came as Heather was gearing up to shoot major New Year scenes featuring Eve's marriage to Suki Panesar, portrayed by Balvinder Sopal, in what would be a landmark lesbian wedding on the show.
Still coming to terms with her condition, Heather informed bosses, who assured her there was no need to come in. However, Heather was adamant about filming the scenes, wanting to provide a "full stop" to the storyline, amid fears for her life.
Heather, also known for starring in Waterloo Road, was relieved to learn from scans that her cancer had not spread, yet she faced the prospect of significant surgery and intensive chemotherapy.
In November last year, she underwent a left breast mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. While enduring gruelling chemotherapy sessions, Heather travelled from her Brighton home to Elstree in Hertfordshire, continuing to film at least two days a week during her treatment, committed to her work despite occasionally feeling "shaky".
Heather has commended her team for their unwavering support during her daunting health battle, revealing to Gaby Roslin on the Reasons To Be Joyful podcast: "Everyone knew," as she explained, "I put out a post on our little group WhatsApp and I just felt absolutely enveloped and protected and looked after."
Now that she's completed chemotherapy and is gearing up for radiotherapy, Heather is optimistic about a future she once feared might be taken from her.
Determined to seize the day, she declared, "I need to live for the day," also sharing her family plans: "We've got our three kids. We're going away on a holiday for two weeks. They're at that golden age. The twins Jesse and Lola are eight, Annie is 10."
She further expressed her anticipation for the family getaway, adding "The five of us are going away. We're going on holiday for two weeks and that's been the thing that I've held on to since February, through this whole chemo journey. I just want to enjoy them and try and savour every second."
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