cancer

The Coronation Street star will fly back to the UK for further tests this weekend

Coronation Street legend Beverley Callard reveals she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Callard, best known for her role as Liz McDonald, said she is in the “early stages” and will be going ahead with further treatment before returning to the screen.

The actress is soon to join the Irish soap Fair City as a new character named Lily, long-lost mother of existing character Gwen Connolly. She found out the news just 20 minutes before having to film one of her first scenes.

She told RTE’s Late Late Show on Friday: “I’ve had some tests just before I left the UK, and literally, 15, 20 minutes before I was in my dressing room at Fair City, getting ready to go on, and I was quite nervous and thinking, ‘I hope everybody thinks I’m all right’, whatever.

“And my consultant rang me and said, ‘you’ve got to come back to the UK’ I said, ‘Well, I can’t possibly, I’ve just taken a new job’. I said ‘I’m away for a month’, and I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“But I’m fine, I’m absolutely fine. My head was a bit mashed for the first few days. It’s very early stages, and I’m along with thousands of other women as well.

“It’s early stages, I travel back to the UK tomorrow, just for a couple of weeks, they’re going to test lymph nodes and lymph glands and all that. But then I need an operation and some radiotherapy, and then I’m coming back to Fair City, so I will be back in just a few weeks.”

She added: “I just thought, the world is full of strong, feisty women and I love strong, feisty women, and I just thought, rather than read about it in a newspaper and it all be distorted and everything else, I just said it, so that’s it.”

Callard and her husband are set to move to Co Wicklow as she is filming the soap. After acting in Corrie from 1989 to 2020, Callard said she was looking forward to her first appearance on Irish soap Fair City, which will hit the screen on February 19.

Jamie Theakston has revealed he is constantly anxious that his cancer could come back in a new health update.

The 55-year-old said he now expects the worst every time he attends a check-up, despite being cancer-free.

He explained he is “still in treatment” due to regular monitoring, with appointments every two months because of the “fear it could come back”.

Speaking on his Heart radio show on World Cancer Day, Jamie said: “So I was diagnosed back in August 2024. I was offered the choice of chemo or surgery. I opted for surgery and after three operations my cancer had gone. It was a success.

“I never rang a bell though. Most people ring the bell after chemo or radiotherapy, when treatment finishes.”

He added that he continues to attend check-ups to make sure he remains cancer-free.

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“Mine was slightly different because I had surgery. I then had monthly check-ups for a year, and I’m still in that cycle.

“So in year two I now go for check-ups every two months, because it can come back.

“Obviously there is always that fear. So I’m slightly reluctant to ring the bell technically because I’m still in treatment. But I also think, if it inspires anyone else, then we should all give it a go.”

Jamie was diagnosed with stage-one laryngeal cancer a form of cancer affecting the voice box – after a routine check-up following changes in his voice.

The diagnosis came as a huge shock after regular listeners to the show he co-hosts with Amanda Holden noticed hoarseness in his speech.

He took time off Heart Radio to undergo surgery with Jason King filling in hosting duties while Jamie recovered.

Following treatment, the former kids TV star said his prognosis was “very positive” thanks to the cancer being detected early.

Jamie has previously revealed the hardest part of his journey was telling his young sons.

Breaking the news, he said: “I had to explain that I was going to be fine, but they were too young to understand. When you tell a 14-year-old you’ve got cancer, they think you’re going to die.

“My youngest had been with me when I was told my mum had died of cancer -so he knew exactly what it meant.”

Jamie shares two sons, Sidney, 17, and Kit, 18, with his wife British actress Sophie Siegle.

The pair married in 2007 after meeting through mutual friends at an Oscars afterparty the year previously.

Legendary star Jeff Hordley admits that his latest dramatic storyline has been his “hardest ever” and has vowed to get a special blood test, checking for warning signals, for his own peace of mind.

Emmerdale’s Cain Dingle is told tomorrow night that he has prostate cancer. With 64000 new cases diagnosed in the UK predominantly in men over the age of 50, Jeff Hordley – who has played hardman Cain for 25 years – tells the Mirror: “This is the hardest story I have ever worked on throughout my time on Emmerdale because I want to make sure I get it right for the many men who are sadly affected.”

The most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK, a family history of the disease also increases the risk of prostate cancer, which effects one in eight men – with the risk doubling for Black men. Often without symptoms in the early stages, a special PSA blood test, can, however, detect abnormalities that can lead to early diagnosis and a far better survival rate.

READ MORE: Corrie star James Cartwright reveals tragic encounter with stranger at station

Jeff, 55, explains: “Prostate cancer can have such an enormous effect on both the person diagnosed and their family. I feel fortunate because my family has not been affected by the disease and thankfully a health check I had a few years ago, that included my prostate, was fine.

“But filming this storyline has made me realise how sobering the disease can be and how it affects so many. It’s so important if you are in a higher risk category to get tested. As soon as I have my next day off, I am going to be making an appointment with my GP to have a PSA test.”

Unfortunately, Cain, 51, like so many men in real life, failed to take a test because he lacked symptoms. But in January during the explosive Corriedale special, the Dingle fan favourite was shocked to learn he had a mass on his prostate gland after being rushed to hospital when he was shot at by evil John Sugden. Scanning his wound, the tumour was detected and doctors ordered further tests.

Now after an agonising month-long wait, Cain will be told he has cancer. It is localised but aggressive and he will require urgent surgery. He is also warned there could be serious surgical side effects including incontinence and erectile dysfunction. It leaves the family man, whose wife, Moira, is currently locked up in prison charged with two murders she didn’t commit, terrified he won’t be able to protect those he loves the most if he tells them the truth.

“Cain is frightened of telling anyone,” says Jeff. “Everything is falling to pieces and he doesn’t deal with his diagnosis at all well. He has never found it easy to talk about his feelings anyway but after learning of his diagnosis, he snaps at everyone. He worries that if he tells anyone and with Moira in prison, nobody will be around to look after their children. He is terrified he is going to die.”

A very likeable actor who is worlds away from the hardman he plays on-screen, Jeff – happily married to fellow Emmerdale star Zoe Henry, 52, who has played Rhona Goskirk for 22 years – is keen to use his soap role to raise awareness. He says: “We’ve been working together with Prostate Cancer UK on Cain’s story and we are going to explore the enormous impact it has on everyone’s lives. Soaps can play a hugely powerful part in raising awareness and if it encourages one man to get tested and find out they have this illness before it is too late – then that has to be a positive thing.”

Secretly told about Cain’s cancer storyline last September, his first reaction was understandably to take a big gulp when he heard the word ‘cancer’. Fearing it might mean the end of his character’s time in the soap, he confesses: “When I had my meeting, our producer, Laura, told me Cain was going to get shot in Corriedale. I was like ‘oh gulp’. But she said: ‘it’s ok you will survive the shooting’. It was then she told me doctors would find a mass from a scan in the hospital and that it would be cancer. I had to do a double gulp.”

Reassured the storyline would pan out for quite some time, Jeff remains tight lipped about what lies ahead but teases: “Cain is told surgery could make him incontinent and/or he could have an erectile dysfunction afterwards. “For some men, this can be short term but for others, it is forever. What if Moira won’t want him? This will be a story about how ultimately their love for each other is so strong.”

He admits the surgical side effects were something he had no knowledge of before he started filming, adding: “I found them really sobering and I think it is important we do make men aware, so they do feel more knowledgeable.”

Working flat out on the huge storyline, it is the latest of many powerful plots he has been involved in during his stellar 25-year soap career including discovering Cain was the illegitimate son of Zak Dingle and being diagnosed with a brain injury in 2015.

Jeff confides it helps enormously that Zoe, who he has two grown-up children with, understands the pressures of filming a big storyline. To unwind, they enjoy country walks near the family’s home in Yorkshire. He says: “Zoe totally understands and I’m so lucky that if I have had a big day and she gets home before me, she will cook something nice. Walks with my dogs are also a good way to switch off too, as is watching a film. I also DJ a bit which I really enjoy.”

And as someone who abstains from drinking alcohol in January and February, he says a ‘clear head’ helps him cope too. Going on to praise the entire Emmerdale cast and crew, he feels ‘blessed’ to be working alongside Natalie J Robb, who plays Moira. He adds: “We have a great shorthand and it is easy to be in Cain and Moira’s world when you are acting alongside Nat. To work on the Corriedale special was also an honour and my one day on ‘the cobbles’ was like the best ‘work placement’ day ever. To see Bill Roache walking the Emmerdale corridors was surreal, he’s such a legend and a gent.”

While Jeff acknowledges he is lucky to not have cancer, he does, however, live with Crohn’s disease. As a result, he is very health conscious, grows his own vegetables on an allotment and cooks from scratch. Jeff, an ambassador for Crohn’s & Colitis UK, says: “It is a different debilitating disease to cancer. I had a big operation in my final year at drama school at the age of 26 and since then, I have mainly been ok. I have been able to navigate it with my diet thankfully.”

For now, Jeff hopes by giving a rare interview, it will help to save lives, adding: “I hope after watching Cain’s storyline, it will encourage men to get tested. It could save their life.”

*If you have been affected by the Cain storyline, help can be sought at prostatecanceruk.org

READ MORE: ‘I’ve had six months of secrecy’ – Andrew Scarborough delivers huge news about Graham’s explosive return to Emmerdale

ANGIE Best has given her fans the latest update from her hospital bed as she fights colon cancer.

Posting from her hospital bed in Switzerland, Angie revealed she would be starting her second round of chemotherapy in the coming days.

Angie, who was the first wife of footballer George Best and is mum to TV personality Calum Best, seemed upbeat in her Instagram video despite telling her followers, “I can’t function.”

She captioned the video: “All together now, 🎼 just one cornetto…yes they want me to eat sugar ffs 🤦‍♀️ I have to start second round of chemo on Tuesday 😬.”

In the video she showed her nurse waving to the camera and then spoke directly to her fans.

“So I’m back at my favourite place with my favourite nurse, isn’t she just a darling – and she speaks English but she’s Swiss,” Angie explained.

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“I’ve got to gain weight so they’ve got me drinking these awful things [Angie held up a calorie shake]. I can’t find a jelly baby bloody anywhere and the only ice cream in Switzerland is a Cornetto for heaven’s sake.”

Angie then pleaded for help: “Advice needed: I know a lot of you have been through this, but I can’t function, I can’t lift my head up, I can’t brush my teeth, I can’t eat. It’s terrible.”

She coughed as she concluded: “Any advice there, homies?”

Angie also wrote under the clip: “Apparently feeling like this is normal. Nothing normal about it ffs. If you’re suffering right now, we’re here for each other.”

Many rushed to wish her warm wishes, including her son Calum.

“I’m so sorry you’re feeling this way and going through this, it will pass and we come out even better I love you,” he wrote.

Another person added: “You are doing just great Angie , keep up the good work.”

And a third commented: “Well I think you look beautiful as always, have the cornetto, keep fighting and stay strong, sending you lots of love.”

Angie’s EastEnders niece Sam Womack, who herself battled breast cancer in 2022, also shared words of encouragement.

“YES AUNTIE!!!!! Eat eat eat and you always look beautiful,” Sam wrote.

Earlier this month, Calum, 44, took to Instagram to plead for support from his mum who is struggling to afford her treatment, and to tell her fans that her cancer has spread to her liver.

“It doesn’t care where you’re from, how you live, or how healthy you try to be. And now, it’s here – and it’s with my mum,” he said.

Calum said he has set up a GoFundMe page for financial support.

Angie met George Best at a dinner party in LA in 1975 when he was signing to play for the Los Angeles Aztecs, and it was “love at first sight”.

They moved to London in 1976.

When she returned to Los Angeles, George followed her and persuaded her to marry him.

They wed on 24 January 1976 and went on to have son Calum in 1981.

The couple separated the following year and divorced in 1986, following George’s problems with alcohol abuse and domestic violence.

SEOUL, Jan. 27 (UPI) — South Korea’s Hyundai ADM Bio announced plans to launch global clinical trials of its new drug, Penetrium, for rheumatoid arthritis and prostate cancer during a symposium held in Seoul on Tuesday.

Citing promising preclinical results, the biopharmaceutical company said that it aims to begin the clinical tests in the near future.

“In the field of rheumatoid arthritis, we expect to enter clinical trials simultaneously in South Korea and the United States,” Hyundai ADM Bio CEO Cho Won-dong said. “For prostate cancer, we have already received approval from the Korean authorities.”

Dankook University professor Choy Jin-ho, who played a key role in the development of Penetrium, expressed hope that the new-concept drug could bring about a paradigm shift in the fight against multiple diseases, including other types of tumors in addition to prostate cancers.

“A significant portion of anticancer drug resistance is not caused by genetic mutations in cancer cells themselves, but rather by the formation of stroma around them during treatment, which acts like a fortress wall blocking drug penetration,” he said.

Choy said Penetrium was designed to target the “fortress wall,” or the supportive structure around cancer cells, so that drugs could be delivered more effectively.

The symposium brought together experts at home and abroad. Among them were Dr. John Isaacs, professor clinical rheumatology at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, and Dr. Frederick Millard, a professor of medicine at UC San Diego Health.

Isaacs is one of the leading experts on rheumatoid arthritis, while Millard is known for his contributions to prostate cancer research.

Noting that conventional rheumatoid arthritis treatments often involved immune suppression and significant side effects, Isaacs praised Hyundai ADM Bio’s approach of controlling only the metabolism of pathological cells without suppressing the immune system.

Millard expressed optimism about the new strategy breaking down the protective barriers that shield cancerous cells, instead of targeting them for direct destruction.

The share price of Hyundai ADM Bio jumped 13.56% on the Seoul bourse on Wednesday. Its parent company, Hyundai Bioscience, surged by the daily limit of 30%.