Malandra Burrows has revealed her breast cancer prognosis ‘changes all the time.’
The actress, 56, who played Kathy Glover on Emmerdale from 1985-2005 on and off, was diagnosed with stage three cancer in February – a month after finding a lump.
During a candid interview on Wednesday’s Lorraine, the former soap star provided an update on where she is at on her cancer journey – and revealed how Ant and Dec have given her fighting inspiration.
‘The prognosis changes all the time’: Emmerdale’s Malandra Burrows has provided an update on her breast cancer journey – and said Ant and Dec have given her fighting inspiration
‘I’ve had 3 major ops, so I’ve just got through those. The prognosis changes all the time, so I was due to have chemo next but that changed, so now I’m having radiotherapy.
‘You’ve just got to take it day by day. 1 in 7 women are going to get this, I implore every lady out there to check yourself. It’s a moment out your life to save your life,’ she urged.
Malandra recently revealed she believes her dog saved her life by inadvertently alerting her to a lump in her breast that led to her cancer diagnosis.
Looking back: Malandra, 56, revealed her time on I’m A Celebrity in 2006 (pictured) has given her the confidence to fight
Shedding more light to Lorraine, 62, she recalled: ‘It was so bizarre, we were watching a movie together and she wanted to lie on my chest – she’d never done that before, nuzzling headbutting me. I get emotional talking about it.
‘She swiped me so hard with her head, it really hurt, so I checked myself and thought that she’d bruised me, and I found a lump. I thought it was a swollen gland but it didn’t go away. My GP said come in straight away, and that was the start of my little C journey.’
Malandra, who has also dabbled in the music industry, admitted she feels ‘blessed’ because she had no symptoms, but ‘dreads’ to think where she would be now without the interaction with her dog.
Career: The actress, 56, who played Kathy Glover on Emmerdale from 1985-2005 on and off, was diagnosed in February – a month after finding a lump (pictured on the soap in 1995)
Update: ‘I’ve had 3 major ops, so I’ve just got through those. The prognosis changes all the time, so I was due to have chemo next but that changed, so now I’m having radiotherapy,’ she said
‘I’m so thankful to her I really am,’ she said.
Elsewhere, Malandra revealed her time on I’m A Celebrity in 2006 has given her the confidence to fight.
She recalled the moment she told the Macmillan nurse who confirmed her diagnosis: ‘I’ve been in the jungle with Ant and Dec, I can do anything. I’m going to fight this. And that’s what I’m going to do. Being in the jungle, the things they put me through, served me good.’
Incredible: Malandra recently revealed she believes her dog saved her life by inadvertently alerting her to a lump in her breast that led to her cancer diagnosis
Doctors have said that the cancer may have been sparked by the menopause.
Malandra, who has previously lost friends to breast cancer, said she was meant to have a routine mammogram back in 2020 that was cancelled due to the pandemic.
She now believes the cancer may have been spotted earlier had her appointment gone ahead.
Malandra won the role of Kathy Bates on Emmerdale just three months after she left drama school.
She became one of the soap’s longest running characters, appearing from 1985 to 2001 and returning briefly in 2005.