Denise Scott has opened up on her intense 17 months of breast cancer treatment amid her battle with an ‘aggressive’ form of the disease.
The beloved n comedian, 69, was diagnosed with cancer near the start of 2023 and revealed the shock news publicly in August last year.
She has now detailed her ‘pretty much non-stop’ 17 months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments to fight the ‘particularly aggressive’ form of breast cancer.
Denise took to Facebook on Friday to reveal that she had undergone her last day of chemotherapy after first starting the treatment back in February 2023.
‘Yesterday was my last day of chemo. I’ve been having treatment for breast cancer HER2 positive pretty much non-stop for 17 months,’ she shared alongside a picture of herself in hospital.
Denise Scott has opened up on her intense 17 months of breast cancer treatment amid her battle with an ‘aggressive’ form of the disease
The TV star went on to detail the months-long stints of chemotherapy and other treatments she has undergone over the past year and a half amid her cancer battle.
She went on: ‘Feb 2023-May 2023 Chemo, June 2023 lumpectomy and removal of lymph nodes from right arm pit, August 2023-Sept 2023 Daily Radiation sessions for 6 weeks, (and) Aug 2023- May 2024 9 more months of Chemo.’
Denise confirmed that her latest mammogram was ‘clear’ as she thanked her fans for their support amid the difficult time.
‘For now, at least, the treatment has done its job,’ she penned.
‘Latest mammogram was clear. I lost all my hair (in) the first round of chemo, then got these thin white, quite frankly disappointing, tufts grow in (the) second round – different sort of chemo.
Denise, 69, took to Facebook on Friday to share a picture of herself in hospital as she revealed she had undergone her last day of chemotherapy after starting the treatment in February 2023
In a caption detailing her 17 months of ‘non-stop’ treatments, Denise confirmed that her latest mammogram was ‘clear’ as she thanked her fans for their support amid the difficult time
‘So many people to thank and acknowledge. But for now I’ll leave it there. Thank you for yr lovely messages.’ (sic)
The media personality and former star of The Project first spoke about her cancer diagnosis to The n Women’s Weekly last August.
She told how she was first diagnosed with breast cancer while working on the Mother and Son reboot, but bravely carried on shooting the project.
‘I do console myself that at least I’ve lived a full life that I’m happy with,’ Denise told the publication.
‘But I don’t want to go yet. There are things I want to do.’
The beloved n comedian and former star of The Project was diagnosed with cancer near the start of 2023 and revealed the shock news publicly in August last year
Denise said she was leaning on her partner John Lane for support, adding: ‘The prognosis has continued to be good, and there’s a lot of hope.’
Denise met John when they performed together as clowns on a theatre production in Albury, New South Wales.
The couple have been together for more than 40 years but they never got married, with Denise previously saying it wasn’t something either of them focused on.
‘I didn’t like the idea of someone saying, “Well now you have to stay with this person for the rest of your life”. I think that was it for me,’ she revealed back in 2019.
Denise said she was leaning on her partner John Lane (pictured in 2020) for support. They have been together for more than 40 years and share two children, Jordie and Bonnie
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The Project's Denise Scott, 68, reveals she's battling an 'aggressive' form of breast cancer after being diagnosed six months ago
However, Denise – who shares two children, Jordie and Bonnie, with John – said they had not ruled out getting married in the future.
The veteran actress previously revealed to The Sydney Morning Herald that she knew she wanted kids with John just four weeks after first meeting him.
‘We decided we wanted kids together. I’d been told I couldn’t conceive, but Dad’s sudden death made it urgent to find out. I got pregnant straight away,’ she explained.
Denise’s father Russ died from a sudden heart attack when she was just 28 years old.
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and affects more than two MILLION women a year
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Each year in the UK there are more than 55,000 new cases, and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women. In the US, it strikes 266,000 each year and kills 40,000. But what causes it and how can it be treated?
What is breast cancer?
It comes from a cancerous cell which develops in the lining of a duct or lobule in one of the breasts.
When the breast cancer has spread into surrounding tissue it is called ‘invasive’. Some people are diagnosed with ‘carcinoma in situ’, where no cancer cells have grown beyond the duct or lobule.
Most cases develop in those over the age of 50 but younger women are sometimes affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, though this is rare.
Staging indicates how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body.
The cancerous cells are graded from low, which means a slow growth, to high, which is fast-growing. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after they have first been treated.
What causes breast cancer?
A cancerous tumour starts from one abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. It is thought that something damages or alters certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiply ‘out of control’.
Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase the chance, such as genetics.
What are the symptoms of breast cancer?
The usual first symptom is a painless lump in the breast, although most are not cancerous and are fluid filled cysts, which are benign.
The first place that breast cancer usually spreads to is the lymph nodes in the armpit. If this occurs you will develop a swelling or lump in an armpit.
How is breast cancer diagnosed?
- Initial assessment: A doctor examines the breasts and armpits. They may do tests such as a mammography, a special x-ray of the breast tissue which can indicate the possibility of tumours.
- Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer.
If you are confirmed to have breast cancer, further tests may be needed to assess if it has spread. For example, blood tests, an ultrasound scan of the liver or a chest X-ray.
How is breast cancer treated?
Treatment options which may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Often a combination of two or more of these treatments are used.
- Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or the removal of the affected breast depending on the size of the tumour.
- Radiotherapy: A treatment which uses high energy beams of radiation focused on cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells, or stops them from multiplying. It is mainly used in addition to surgery.
- Chemotherapy: A treatment of cancer by using anti-cancer drugs which kill cancer cells, or stop them from multiplying.
- Hormone treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the ‘female’ hormone oestrogen, which can stimulate the cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments which reduce the level of these hormones, or prevent them from working, are commonly used in people with breast cancer.
How successful is treatment?
The outlook is best in those who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small, and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumour in an early stage may then give a good chance of cure.
The routine mammography offered to women between the ages of 50 and 70 means more breast cancers are being diagnosed and treated at an early stage.
For more information visit breastcancernow.org or call its free helpline on 0808 800 6000