Strictly star heartbroken as she shaves head in moving video amid breast cancer battle
Hollyoaks star Ali Bastian has shown remarkable courage by shaving her head, as seen in an emotional video, amid her ongoing battle with breast cancer. The 42 year old actress, who has also appeared in BBC One's Doctors and Strictly Come Dancing, was recently diagnosed with stage two breast cancer, which left her in "total shock".
She discovered a lump while breastfeeding her daughter Isabella. Ali is currently undergoing weekly chemotherapy sessions and is scheduled for a mastectomy and radiotherapy treatment early next year. As a result of her treatment, she started losing her hair. In a brave move, Ali decided to shave her head and shared a heartfelt video with her fans. The montage documented her journey, from cutting her hair short to eventually shaving it off.
Alongside the clip, she wrote: "Hair loss is just one aspect of all of this that we all wish wasn't a side effect but I know it's not forever and a small price to pay for the chance to be well again. The deeper I get into my treatment, the more I see this as an outward expression of how stripped back and raw it feels right now.
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Also sharing as this feels like part of my way... not 'back' to myself... as I will be forever changed... but forward towards my future...to show up as I am right now. In the truth of today. For all of the warrior women going through this. You are not alone." Last month, Ali shared the devastating news of her cancer diagnosis. Speaking to OK!, she confessed: "It was a total shock. I have mornings when I wake up and I've forgotten... and then suddenly I remember. I'm still trying to process it."
Initially, medics thought it might be a blocked duct, but when antibiotics didn't alleviate the discomfort, further tests at a specialist clinic confirmed she had cancer.
Her husband David O'Mahony recalled the moment they found out, saying: "I was with the kids and Ali stuck her head round the door and said that cancerous cells had turned up in the biopsy. She said it in the most subtle way so the girls didn't twig. I could see how scared and in shock she was. It's so tempting to try and 'positive' your way through news like this but it just hit us like a sledgehammer. I just had a feeling of it being so unfair that Ali had been dealt this hand."
Ali is best known for her role as Becca Dean on the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks from 2001 to 2007. Earlier this year, she relocated from London to rural Ireland with her husband and their two daughters, Isla and Isabella.
In an Instagram post, Ali revealed she experienced "major burn out" due to her life in London and challenges following her second pregnancy, which were some of the reasons the family left the capital.
Ali confessed that she occasionally feels "frightened" about what lies ahead, but she's full of praise for the medical staff who have been by her side throughout her journey. She shared how invaluable the advice from the nurses has been and how keeping a journal of her experiences has helped her cope.
In her words: "I feel like they're treating me like one of their own. It's like I've been scooped up. I've been blown away by the care and kindness every kind word and cup of tea means a lot. We love it here."
The actress also expressed gratitude towards her former Hollyoaks co-stars including Sarah Jayne Dunn, Carley Stenson and Jodi Albert, who also resides in Ireland, for their unwavering support. Despite the challenges, Ali remains optimistic about the future and revealed she's eager to return to acting once she is "out of the other side".
