Former Home and Away star Alea O’Shea, best known for her role as Darcy Callahan on the iconic show, has shared her brain cancer diagnosis at just 25.
The actress turned social media star, took to Instagram to share the health update, telling her followers that she learnt of her condition following a biopsy on her birthday.
“This is a video I obviously thought I’d never have to make, but I’ve recently been diagnosed with brain cancer,” she began in the clip. “Saying that like, a hook, is insane. It’s been a crazy few weeks.”
“I’m choosing to be open and honest about this online, because I want to live my life as normally as possible while I’m fighting this,” she said, adding that she will soon undergo cancer treatment.
She revealed that she noticed her initial symptoms six weeks prior when she noticed tiny changes with her body, which she initially dismissed.
“I noticed that my smile was a little uneven, and it felt harder to talk [and] get my words out,” she shared in the clip.
“I had a few migraines, but nothing scary.”
She continued, saying that the symptoms got worse during a recent work trip to the US.
“While I was in LA, I lost feeling in two of my fingers, which then crept into my wrist and then my toe,” she explained.
O’Shea initially thought she had pinched a nerve, but when she visited her physiotherapist “he immediately realised it was beyond his scope and sent me to get a brain scan. And that’s how we found it.”
Despite the severity of her diagnosis she is still able to walk and lift her arms, and even though the left side of her body has been slightly affected, she remains positive.
“I can still walk, I can still lift my arm,” she said while doing the movements. “[But] can I flip you off? No. Thumbs up? No. Or hold things? No.”
“But the good news is, where it is on my brain isn’t going to affect my personality. I’m still going to be as hilarious, and have the gift of the gab.”
While she will require surgery that may cause hair loss and paralysis to the left side of her body, she said she will take it one day at a time.
“In the coming months, I might be doing videos one handed. I might disappear when I need to, but mostly, I’m going to be showing up as me every single day that I can,” she said, thanking fans for their support.
“To everyone who follows me and has been invested in my journey thus far, regardless, thank you so much for being here. And thank you for staying through this chapter,” she continued.
“It’s just another part of my story,” she concluded.
“And if it can bring some perspective, comfort, or positivity to other people out there going through it, whilst helping me get through it, that’s all I could ever want.”
Image: Seven
