Nicole Eggert has revealed more cancer has been found in her lymph nodes amid her battle with a ‘very rare’ form of breast cancer.
The Baywatch star, 52, who first disclosed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2023, told Inside Edition that she had just learned doctors had found more disease as she undergoes treatment for stage 2 breast cancer.
Eggert said she ‘kicks herself’ over not regularly checking her breasts and said tissue from her breast implants she got aged 19 made it harder to detect any anomalies in her chest.
The star stated that after gaining around 25 pounds and feeling pain in her left breast beginning in October, she underwent a mammogram and three biopsies – which resulted in a diagnosis of stage 2 cribriform carcinoma breast cancer.
She said: ‘When I felt it, my heart dropped and I was like oh my god. Nobody could take me, so I walked into every breast care center. It’s horrifying because every day and every minute that passes, you know it’s growing.
Nicole Eggert has revealed more cancer has been found in her lymph nodes amid her battle with a ‘very rare’ form of breast cancer
The star notably portrayed the role of Roberta “Summer” Quinn on the hit series, Baywatch, for its third and fourth seasons; seen with Pamela Anderson (right) in 1992
Only a month later, a mammogram finally confirmed her fears – Eggert had stage 2 breast cancer.
She said: ‘My heart dropped, I lost all hearing, everything sank. It’s named invasive cribriform carcinoma. It’s very rare.’
‘The self-exams, I’m telling you, I kick myself. That’s the one thing I should have been doing’
However, she says, tissue from her breast implants made self-exams difficult, saying: ‘If I didn’t have them and I had my smaller, natural breasts, I am sure I would have felt it much sooner’ – before branding the implants a ‘huge mistake.’
Eggert – who is mother to two daughters – told People in December: ‘This journey’s been rough for me.’
‘This hasn’t been a breezy sail through life,’ the actress said, adding that she has been focusing on positivity. ‘I always read inspirational quotes and corny stuff, but it gets me through.’
Nicole revealed that her next steps is to have surgery to remove the cancer, and to also undergo chemotherapy and radiation. The star added that it is currently not clear if the cancer has spread.
In regards to the lump, she explained, ‘I can definitely feel it. It’s there. It needs to be taken out. So it’s just a matter of do I have to do treatment before the surgery or can they perform the surgery and then I do the treatment after.’
Eggert got candid about the difficulty of waiting, expressing, ‘I have panics where I’m like, just get this out of me.’
‘You sit there and it’s in you and you’re like, every second that passes and it’s inside of me. It’s growing, and you’re just like, you just want it out.’
Nicole is mother to daughters Dilyn, 25, and Keegan, 12, and admitted that her ‘biggest fear’ is no longer being there for her children.
Eggert revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in December, and admitted that the ‘journey’s been rough for me’
Eggert said she ‘kicks herself’ over not regularly checking her breasts and said tissues from her breast implants she got aged 19 made it harder to detect any anomalies in her chest (pictured 1994)
‘This hasn’t been a breezy sail through life,’ the actress said, adding that she has been focusing on positivity. ‘I always read inspirational quotes and corny stuff, but it gets me through’; seen in 2017
She explained that while Dilyn is ‘an adult,’ the actress also has ‘a 12-year-old at home where I’m the only caregiver. I have no family. I have nothing.’
The Blown Away actress recalled the moment when she told her children of her breast cancer diagnosis, and remembered ‘the horror’ on Keegan’s face.
‘It immediately made me realize, there’s just no succumbing to this. This is something I have to get through. This is something that I have to beat. She needs me more than anything and anybody.’
The star – who is a single mother – told People that financially, it has not been easy.
‘My fear is that my everyday hustle, everything that I do to keep everything going is going to come to a screeching halt when I’m not feeling well or I’m sick or I’m in the hospital or whatever is going on.’
Nicole continued, ‘It’s just so overwhelming, and I’m just doing everything I can not to spiral.’
‘At night when I lay down, I panic because I’m like, “Well, who’s going to cover all the bills? Who’s going to do all of this?”‘
Eggert’s close friend, Mindy Molinary, has set up a GoFundMe for Nicole to help the star with finances as her health battle begins.
Nicole is mother to daughters Dilyn, 25, and Keegan, 12, and admitted that her ‘biggest fear’ is no longer being there for her children; seen in 2000 in Santa Monica
The actress has shared a link to the page on her social media accounts, including Instagram.
In the caption alongside a photo of her with her two daughters, she penned, ‘Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear.’
‘If we believe tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today. – Thich Nhat Hnah. Link in bio- Please read and Please share.’
She also sent gratitude towards her friend’s assistance while talking to the publication and revealed that has plans to start a non-profit organization after her recovery.
‘I absolutely 100% want to start a non-profit for other single parents such as myself, who don’t have any family, don’t have anybody to turn to.’
‘They take on all this by themselves because they love their kids so much, but when something happens to them, then what?’ Nicole added.
Real Housewives alum, Bethenny Frankel, shared a screenshot of the GoFundMe page on her Instagram stories and wrote, ‘As a mother this breaks my heart…’
‘I donated to this cause. As someone with no parental support, it’s been scary to be out there alone. To be responsible for girls, scared not to be able to put a roof over their head much less not be there for them is terrifying.’
‘Then to have no earning power…it’s all horrific. Spread the word. Make a small donation,’ she informed her followers, adding that people close to her have also matched her donation.
Eggert’s close friend, Mindy Molinary, has set up a GoFundMe for Nicole to help the star with finances as her health battle begins
She sent her gratitude towards her friend’s assistance and revealed that has plans to start a non-profit organization after her recovery
Real Housewives alum, Bethenny Frankel, shared a screenshot of the page and wrote, ‘As a mother this breaks my heart…’
‘The name of this game is paying it forward. I don’t even know her but now my heart is breaking for her and those little girls…Xoxo.’
After facing financial struggles in the past, such as filing for bankruptcy for a third time in 2013, the star notably started a new venture in 2014 by becoming a driver for her own ice cream truck.
Nicole notably portrayed the role of Roberta “Summer” Quinn on the hit series, Baywatch, for its third and fourth seasons.
She also starred in Charles In Charge from 1987 through 1990, and played the character of Jamie Powell.
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