Baywatch star Nicole Eggert has been diagnosed with breast cancer aged 51.
The actress, who also starred in 80s sitcom Charles In Charge, told People Magazine she was diagnosed with stage 2 cribriform carcinoma breast cancer in early December.
Nicole Eggert as Roberta ‘Summer’ Quinn in Baywatch. Pic: Fremantle Media/Shutterstock
Eggert told the US publication that the journey to being diagnosed has been “rough”, saying: “I always read inspirational quotes and corny stuff, but it gets me through.”
The actress will need surgery but is waiting for her doctors to determine if the cancer has spread and when chemotherapy and radiation treatment will start.
A friend of Eggert’s has set up a GoFundMe page to fund her treatment as “it’s been a long time since Charles In Charge and Baywatch”.
Her friend wrote on the fundraising page: “As a single mom, she’s had to struggle financially to raise her two daughters.
“She still has a little one at home and she is terrified of not being able to afford the treatments and surgery necessary while also keeping a roof over their heads.
“She’s lost both her parents and doesn’t have any family to lean on or help her with this situation.”
The cast of Baywatch. Pic: Fremantle Media/Shutterstock
Eggert told People her “biggest fear” is not being there for her daughters, Dilyn, 25, and 12-year-old Keegan.
“[Dilyn’s] an adult, but I have a 12-year-old at home where I’m the only caregiver. I have no family. I have nothing,” she said.
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Reflecting on “the horror” on her youngest daughter’s face when she told her about her diagnosis, she said: “It immediately made me realise, there’s just no succumbing to this.
“This is something I have to get through. This is something that I have to beat. She needs me more than anything and anybody.”