Hollyoaks TV star Ali Bastian diagnosed with breast cancer after finding lump while feeding baby

42-year-old Bastian found the lump shortly after breastfeeding her 19-month-old daughter Isabella in June.

The actress, who has been married to fellow actor husband David O' Mahoney since 2019, told OK! Magazine: “I hadn’t been breastfeeding Izzy at night but then David flew back to London for work and suddenly she was feeding like crazy. I was thinking, ‘maybe she’s having a growth spurt or something.’ And because of that, my boobs felt sore. The next morning I woke up and thought, ‘ouch, this really hurts.’ And that’s when I felt a lump.

Bastian, who lives in Ireland with her family, went straight to an emergency doctor. She explained: “It really seemed like I had mastitis, especially as I had been night-weaning Izzy before that. We thought I probably had a blocked duct. The doctor gave me antibiotics and said that if it didn’t clear up in a few days I should go to the breast clinic.

“But it wasn’t clearing up and the more I felt it, the more it felt like this wasn’t just a blocked duct. I went to my GP and I said, ‘Actually, can I go to the clinic now?’ and she was very supportive of that.”

Bastian, who also has a daughter, Isla, four, with 42-year-old O’Mahoney, had to wait a few days after having the scan to get her results. As she didn’t live close to the clinic, she asked to have her results over the phone.

“We agreed that I would text her and that she would then call me back. I could hear it in the tone of her voice but she told me in the kindest way possible. She was very reassuring. She said the words that I’m holding on to, that they have ‘intent to cure me’.”

She has been diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, and is now having weekly chemotherapy treatments, which will last for around five months, and then she’ll undergo a mastectomy and radiotherapy treatment The mum-of-two went on to say that life was a “bit of a blur” in the following few days while she waited to hear what her treatment plan would be. She explained: “That’s a really tough time in which you have the diagnosis but you’re not sure what will happen next. For me that’s where the difficult journey with trust came in. It’s not something that always comes naturally to me – so I have to remind myself daily to trust in my team, trust in the plan and trust it will all be OK.”

Tests revealed that Bastian’s cancer is hormone-driven, and doctors are looking into whether it’s genetic as her maternal aunt and grandmother also had breast cancer. It has been decided that she will have a mastectomy and chemotherapy.

She will have a single mastectomy, but has asked if a double mastectomy would be considered as a preventative measure. She said: “They would, but it’s not been fully discussed yet.”

Bastian, who has also appeared on BBC reality show Strictly Come Dancing and soap Doctors, spoke candidly about the mental health impact of her diagnosis. “There have been times when I’ve felt really positive and times when I’ve felt quite frightened. She is seeing a psychologist who specialises in oncology. “And when I go for my weekly chemo, the nurses always ask how I’m doing emotionally,” she added.

Bastian stayed in hospital overnight for her first chemotherapy treatment. She explained: “That was a real moment. I felt like I was getting on this train that was going with or without me and I needed to get on board. For me, it’s not helpful to feel I’m in a ‘battle’ with cancer. It’s not something you choose to go through, it’s something you adapt to.”

She continued to say that she finds chemo draining. “Immediately after treatment I have a couple of low days but then I start to pick up and feel kind of normal actually, which is really nice.”

To prepare for hair loss, Bastian now has a short hairstyle but also wears a wig. She said her husband cut her hair in a “personal moment”. She went on: “I was starting to cut out the matted bits and then David said, ‘let me help,’ and I now like the style. I know some people like to take that power back and shave it off in one go, but it’s helping me to do it in stages.” She’s also had her eyebrows tattooed and had some semi-permanent make-up.

Bastian, who became a household name through her role as Becca Dean on Hollyoaks but left the show in 2017, is optimistic about the future and is looking forward to returning to acting when her treatment is finished.

She added: “I will get through this and come out the other side. After my diagnosis, I went on Instagram and saw a post by my friend Dominic Power, my former co-star in The Bill, and I could see he was on set in Hollyoaks. I suddenly had a real pang of, ‘I want to look into an actor’s eyes and do a scene. I really miss it.”