Coronation Street star Tracy Shaw has broken down in tears as she provided an emotional health update from hospital. The 52-year-old actress, best known for playing Maxine Peacock on the ITV soap, shared a video from A&E after being taken to hospital during her chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer.
Diagnosis and Treatment Journey
Tracy announced in April that she will need five months of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She said at the time: "I have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Originally, I was going to have surgery in two weeks, but because my results have come back that I am HER2 positive, it means I have to have chemo for five months. Then [there is] hopefully surgery to have lumps removed and take the nymph glands out so they can do some more tests. And possibly more surgery before radiotherapy."
Since then, Tracy has been sharing regular updates on social media as she progresses through her journey, including detailing what she faces during chemotherapy treatment.
Recent Health Struggles
On Tuesday (June 23), Tracy returned to social media and documented the struggles she is facing as her treatment continues. She wrote: "Hello. My apologies for silence. Been a ride I prefer not to endure ….day 6 after chemo all the same side effects, plus shingles with blisters... You were right, it’s definitely a s**t show. 2nd time round knowing kind of helps but nothing assists in the endurance of your body falling apart in every way. Hopeful and grateful to be given this opportunity were many haven’t."
Returning to Instagram on Friday (June 26), Tracy shared a video from A&E after going to hospital. She explained that she had 'really high temperatures yesterday and they spiked several times'.
Praise for NHS and Concerns Raised
Fighting tears, Tracy said: "I didn’t want to go to A&E in the hot weather so my body has suffered today. As a consequence, I came in to A&E early this morning and I just want to say thank you to the NHS and everyone in the A&E department. It isn’t easy coming in when we have cancer because there are a lot of people with – I’m not disregarding it – minor things, and some have just drank too much. It’s really hard at this point when my immune [system] is so low to get through that part of the department without catching anything else."
She continued: "Anyway, thank you to the NHS and all the staff. They've been amazing, and they have been able to put me in a separate room for now. It's really important to try and protect us. But I just wanted to raise a few things - the aircon isn't working in this hospital, and we've had workmen here outside my door and one guy was trying to do some work and when the nurse asked if she could close the door, he was really rude to her. Really rude to her. And then the nurse had to go away and it was 15 minutes before she got back."
She added: "He felt like he had a job to do, and he'd put his work bag on the bin which was holding my door open. I've normally got a mask on as well, but no one else has a mask on around me. Then I had three guys come in...the nurse said the aircon wasn't working and they said it was. Three guys just walked in, no masks, nothing. It wasn't working - she was right and in the end they went away and she asked if it was okay if they came back. I said 'With masks on!'"
Heatwave Challenges
Tracy went on to praise the NHS staff for all their hard work in spite of the temperatures soaring across the UK as a result of the heatwave. Large portions of the country have seen temperatures go over 30°C. "Yesterday in A&E, I watched the nurses doctors and staff work incredibly hard in the heat with no aircon. Everyone who is working in hospitals today I salute you," she said.
