Former Coronation Street actress Tracy Shaw has opened up about the brutal reality of her chemotherapy treatment, revealing she is "absolutely starving" yet unable to consume food due to the side effects.
The 52-year-old, who portrayed Maxine Peacock on the ITV soap, shared a candid video on Instagram describing what she called "the reality of the situation of living on two different parallels of the aftermath of the chemo effects."
Ms Shaw explained that thrush has developed inside her mouth, leaving her with chapped lips and severely impacting her ability to eat.
Sitting in her home, alongside one of her dogs and watching nature, she noted: “Welcome to the reality or situation of living on two different parallels of the aftermath of the chemo effects.
Shortly after her diagnosis, Ms Shaw cut her hair off and donated it to the Little Princess Trust charity
|“Which are: I'm absolutely starving, and I can't eat; I have thrush in my mouth; my lips are chapped; I woke up feeling like I had pneumonia.
“The immune system’s really struggling today, so I'm listening to my body, and I need to protect that and stay home.”
Informing her followers of what she had planned for the day, she explained: “Today, I have another earth angel coming; this is a lady friend of mine who has spent the evening cooking food, is aware of the chemo food because her friend had it, so she has cooked all sorts of different portions of food to go into my freezer.
“She is delivering them for me, she doesn't live near me, and she's bringing some turbans that she has made because I sent her a picture. A turban would be great, so she has learnt how to do them with her sewing teacher.
“She is bringing a sewing machine for me because she has also taught me how to start making quilts and sewing, so I am very blessed.”
Discussing how she is looking at her life with a positive outlook, Ms Shaw added: “I have had the most spiritual experience this morning since about 3:30 actually, watching the sunrise, being with the birds, being with the dogs.
“And I just feel so at peace amongst the madness within the flesh body. Being at one with nature for me is the most powerful spiritual healing that could happen.
“I want to say thank you to all of you who are sharing your journey with me, who have been before us, warriors, men and gentlemen and all the families who were sharing their stories of their loved ones.
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“And I want to send all my love to people who are going through the treatment as well, of any kind, of any kind. For me, nature is my healing.
“I have a little break in between, while my body is now trying to recuperate before the next session. I feel really blessed, and I'd like to send all my love and huge gratitude to you.”
Ms Shaw’s treatment plan changed after tests revealed she is HER2 positive, a protein associated with more aggressive forms of the disease.
When announcing her cancer back in May 2026, she explained: “I was originally going to be having surgery in two weeks, but because my results have come back that I am HER2 positive, it means I have to have chemo for five months.”
The former soap star has been flooded with support by friends and fans
|Following chemotherapy, she hopes to undergo surgery to remove the two lumps in her breast and lymph glands for further testing, potentially followed by additional surgery and radiotherapy.
Before beginning treatment, Ms Shaw cut her hair and donated it to the Little Princess Trust, a charity providing wigs for children affected by cancer or alopecia.
She subsequently shaved her head entirely, sharing photographs on Instagram with the caption: "Next phase. My love to my sons, Louis and Luca. You're my everything."
Ms Shaw has also channelled her energy into fundraising, completing a 100-mile walk for Breast Cancer Now on 31 May, thanking supporters for their donations "to help research and fund every woman and man facing this disease."
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