Victoria Ekanoye has issued an important plea about cancer after a horrific ordeal with the illness. The actress, who once played Angie Appleton in Coronation Street, found a lump in her breast less than a year after giving birth to her son, Theo, in 2021.
Despite a long family history of cancer, initial examinations suggested she was all clear. But being ‘her mother’s daughter’ with a strong gut instinct, Victoria was adamant that something was off – and that’s when she found another lump.
“It was definitely a period of time where a million other things were going on in my mind,” the 43-year-old told the Mirror in an exclusive interview. “I didn’t even I didn’t want to think about it being breast cancer.
“I remember being on set for Death in Paradise and I was just adjusting my microphone, because they put it on different parts of your clothing to kind of obscure it, and I was just adjusting my mic, and I felt a second lump in the same breast.
“I was obviously scared but also really angry at that moment because I just thought, ‘Well, what position am I in now? Do I go back, or is it just more of what they think?’
“Because they thought it was maybe mastitis and calcification due to blocked milk ducts and things like that. So, I just had to kind of take myself off into room and just have a chat with myself or a pep talk and be like, ‘Look, there’s nothing you can do about it right now.
“You’re here to do a job. You’re here with your mum and your son, you just need to protect them. Get the job done, then get home and do something about it.”
For a third opinion, Victoria sought a more detailed physical examination involving an ultrasound, mammogram and biopsy of both lumps with a doctor she described as the ‘best GP she’s ever had’. These further inspections also detected a third lump in her armpit and medics weren’t happy with what they saw.
“So, she said, ‘I’m not happy with what I’m seeing. So, I really think at this point, please come back in a week and bring somebody with you. Now, like I said our family for whatever reason, has been plagued by cancer. And so, I know I’ve heard that sentence many times before ‘to bring somebody with you’.”
As requested, Victoria returned the following week with her husband Jonathan. At the time, he remained in good spirits and believed the lumps were related to breastfeeding, with their son only nine months old.
But Victoria was more apprehensive. She continued: “I guess, you know, part of what I do for a living is we have to look at people’s micro-expressions and body language and pick up these things, as an actress. And as soon as [the doctor] walked through the door, I knew what she was going to say and I was holding Johnny’s hand.
“She came in, she kind of spoke about a few things. She was not avoiding it – because she she knew she had to [say something] – but I guess she was trying to softly bring her presence into the room… And [she was] like, ‘Okay, look, I’m not gonna beat around the bush, we have found cancerous cells’.
“And I just felt him stiffen next to me and I felt awful because, even though it’s not your fault, and you don’t bring it upon yourself, you feel guilt that you are bringing all this stress and worry and pain to everybody in your life that you love and care about.”
Victoria’s frightening ordeal comes amidst 56,822 new cases of breast cancer every year, according to Cancer Research statistics. Right now, it is among the most common forms of cancer in the UK, accounting for 30% of all new female cases.
In light of her diagnosis, Victoria was keen to have a double mastectomy – a surgical procedure that removes both breasts. But getting there certainly wasn’t easy, as she was required to have a full body blood transfusion beforehand.
This is because Victoria also battles with sickle cell disease, an inherited life-long condition that affects the red blood cells. In rare cases, it can give rise to serious health problems like strokes and organ damage.
“I was diagnosed in October, and I had my surgery in December,” the star, from Bury, Greater Manchester, continued. “By that point it had become invasive and it had gotten to my lymph nodes, so had I not gone [to the doctors] … I would have been past the point of it becoming invasive, and it would have been in and around my body, probably setting up camp somewhere else.”
Fast forward to February last year and Victoria was ecstatic to announce that she was finally cancer-free. As a patron of Prevent Breast Cancer, she’s now eager to keep raising awareness of the disease and is urging people to do one thing.
“The the biggest part for me is, it’s not about not listening to the doctors,” she said. “It’s about listening to yourself and your body, being body aware, checking yourself regularly, making a little diary just once a month.
“We make appointments all of the time. We make dinner dates, catch up with friends. But the most important date I think you can put in your calendar when it comes to your health, is just once a month doing a full body check for yourself.
“Is anything different? Does anything not feel right? And if there is something, then just go get it checked out. That’s what the doctors are there for we’re not bothering them. We’re not wasting their time.”
Now, Victoria is also finalising a documentary on breast cancer and worldwide disparities in healthcare. She’s filmed across Nigeria, South Africa, the US and the UK, with a specific focus on the experiences of Black women and institutionalised racism.
“So it’s called Shades of Survival,” she said. “It’s for everyone, really. It’s about breast cancer, it’s about the disparities in healthcare. It’s about the health inequity, it’s about resilience, hope, shame sometimes.
“In certain communities there is a lot of shame when it comes to breast cancer because of the connotations of being ‘less of a woman’ which is devastating anyway for the woman. Never mind having to worry about what the community thinks.”
Reflecting on her experience, she added: “I think the need to protect people makes you a little bit stoic in the moment, but in all honesty, I would have been completely broken if I didn’t have the support network that I have, and had at the time. My partner, Jonathan, has been an absolute rock.”