The star, who played Becca Dean in the soap, was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer
Former Hollyoaks actress Ali Bastian has admitted she “felt gutted” after shaving her head as she opened up about her breast cancer diagnosis.
The soap star said she did not feel the sense of empowerment often associated with the decision and has found losing her hair harder than she imagined.
The 42-year-old announced she had been diagnosed with stage two breast cancer earlier this month. She told OK! Magazine she has been having weekly chemotherapy treatment and will undergo a mastectomy and radiotherapy treatment early next year, reports the Mirror.
In a new update on her Instagram story, Ali opened up about losing her hair. Sharing a photo of herself in a blonde wig, she wrote: “I’ve found losing my hair a lot harder than I imagined… I did shave my head in the end and didn’t feel the ‘taking back the power’ bit that people talk about. Just felt a bit gutted. However, being an actor I’ve worn wigs lots and I’ve found wearing a wig sometimes really helps me feel more normal.”
Sporting a wavy blonde wig with a sweep of pink in the bottom, Ali said one thing in particular had shocked her when it came to her new hairstyles. She wrote: “This is a fun [wig] I bought online for @hairweavon_com I was staggered by how much wigs can cost so I’ve found a couple of places that do really good lace front synthetic ones.”
Ali previously opened up about how she is coping with the shock of her cancer diagnosis. She said: “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.”
The soap star, known for her roles on BBC One’s Doctors and as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing series seven, discovered the lump while breastfeeding her daughter Isabella.
Doctors initially believed it to be a blocked duct, but when antibiotics failed to alleviate the pain, she sought help from a specialist clinic. It was here that tests revealed she had cancer.
Her husband, David O’Mahony, said: “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.”
The actress, best known for her role as Becca Dean on Channel 4’s Hollyoaks from 2001 to 2007, relocated to rural Ireland from London with daughters Isla and Isabella earlier this year. Ali put the decision down to burn out due to life in London and challenges following her second pregnancy.
