I'VE BEEN THROUGH A LOT BUT I'M STILL HERE'

Former EastEnders actress Cheryl Fergison opens up on battling womb cancer with the support of her soulmate” and a close circle of trusted friends

- SUE LEE

Strolling through bluebell-strewn gardens in the spring sunshine, Cheryl Fergison looks the very picture of happiness and health. But for eight years the former EastEnders actress fought a secret battle against both cancer and shocking bouts of self-harm – the story of which she only now feels ready to share.

“It was a horrendous time,” the 58-year-old former soap favourite reveals to OK!.

“There were some dark moments, especially at night, when I thought, ‘Am I going to die? Am I going to leave my husband without a wife, my son without a mum?’

“But the time is right to talk about it all now. I’m hoping my story might empower other women. I’ve been through a lot but I’m still here. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

That motto is something Cheryl, who played big-hearted Heather Trott in EastEnders for half a decade, has had no other choice but to live by after being diagnosed with stage 2 cancer of the womb in 2015.

But as brutal as facing the disease was – she underwent a full hysterectomy in June of that year – nothing prepared her for the subsequent psychological impact. That led her to take extreme measures to rid herself of what she erroneously believed were remaining cancer cells in her body, douching herself daily using scalding water.

“It was like an addiction,” explains Cheryl, who won the Funniest Performance award at the 2008 Inside Soap Awards.

“I would bleed, I couldn’t have a smear because it was so tender, it made relations with my husband difficult. I don’t do it anymore but we have to talk about these things otherwise nothing will change.”