EastEnders Samantha Womack reveals emotional transformation following breast cancer battle
Former EastEnders actress Samantha Womack, who played the iconic Ronnie Mitchell from 2007 to 2017, has revealed her incredible life transformation after her battle with breast cancer
Former EastEnders actress Samantha Womack couldn't sound any happier, speaking from her home nestled in the mountains of Valencia, Spain, with only her rescue dog for company. At 52, she endured intensive treatment for breast cancer following her diagnosis in August 2022, but now feels the experience has positively transformed her perspective on life.
"I feel so much more enlightened," says the Brighton-born actress, as she continues, "I know myself better, I feel humbler, I feel calmer."
The most noticeable difference in Samantha's day to day life is her reduced workload - a significant change for someone who's been working almost non-stop since her breakthrough representing the UK in the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest, followed by launching her acting career in Pie In The Sky and Game On in the mid-1900s.
For Samantha, saying no doesn't come easily, the Mirror reports.
"After my year and a half of treatment, I started turning down a lot of stuff – and I didn't have the bank balance to match that confidence, trust me," Samantha revealed. The star shared the news that she was cancer free in December 2022.
"It was me saying the word 'no' and my bank account creaking. But there was empowerment in that because I thought, 'OK, I need to go through this, spend time with myself and figure out stuff that I've never figured out – maybe stuff I've buried under a rug'."
Another belief Samantha holds strongly since her experience with cancer is women's health - especially breast health - must be given greater priority. She revealed her own diagnosis came after she followed a gut instinct and booked a private check-up.
She recalled, telling the Mirror: "I felt perfectly fine. There was no discolouration of skin, dimpling, irritation. I knew the NHS calls people in at 50, but I just had this thought of, 'I need to go and get checked before then'. I was just on the cusp of catching it too late and the speed with which I had to process information was unbearable. I sometimes think, 'What if I hadn't gone to that appointment'?"
Samantha learned that she had a fast-spreading, Grade 3 invasive duct carcinoma and she could not wait any longer for treatment - a lumpectomy and lymph node removal, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
As the stepdaughter of a GP, Samantha immersed herself in learning about breast health. One of the most startling revelations she came across was how many women receive inaccurate mammogram results because of their breast density level. The denser the breast, meaning there is more fibroglandular tissue, the higher the risk of cancer and also its more difficult for mammograms to identify tumours.
The star came to the firm conclusion that women should never let their health fall to the bottom of their 'to-do' list.
'We all live in busy worlds and tend to put these little niggles to one side,' she says. 'I'm an avid lover of the NHS, but if something is worrying you and you have the money to go and get yourself checked, why would you not? I did and it changed my life. Now, I want to empower women to take control of their bodies," she added.
Samantha acknowledges her privilege but admits her financial situation now is very different from her days playing Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders, between 2007 and 2017.
She said: "Soaps pay very, very well, but the reality of being self-employed means that, yes, you get paid for the jobs you do, but for the six months of the year you don't work, you don't get paid."
"I've never been a wealthy person. I've gone from job to job, always thinking, 'Better say yes because no one's going to want me if I don't'.
"I had very low self-esteem. Going back to work after my treatment felt very hard. I couldn't quite step back into that neurotic, zany energy as easily. I was physically capable, but I wasn't emotionally capable. I was picking things that felt gentle to me," she continued.
One of those 'gentle' jobs was a guest role in the crime series The Marlow Murder Club, which she says "felt like a safe space" with a "lovely bunch of women".
"Now it's about things I feel I can emotionally connect to, without having to lose myself too much," she continued. "I'm not ready to go into a gold lamé dress and boogie about on stage."
Another significant shift for Samantha is the amount of time she now spends on her own, as her partner, actor Oliver Farnworth, divides his time between Spain and the UK where he plays John Sugden in Emmerdale.
The set-up works well, she explains: 'He comes back for two or three days at a time, but is filming a lot at the moment. That's been quite good for me, having some space on my own. It's been rare in my life that I've been confident enough to do that, so it's been helpful.'
Late last year, the actress hinted that she and Oliver were considering becoming parents together, saying: "We've talked about adopting, because after the cancer treatment I wouldn't be able to conceive naturally and because of my age."
"But I think I'm learning to put things in perspective and hopefully, in the next 10 years, one of my kids will produce a sproglet and I can go from maternal to gra-ternal," she shared.
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South Wales Argus
29 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Streeting launches investigation into maternity services after families ‘gaslit'
Wes Streeting said that 'up and down' the country 'maternity units are failing, hospitals are failing, trusts are failing, regulators are failing' and there was 'too much passing the buck'. Mr Streeting, who has been meeting families who have lost babies to poor maternity care, told the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) conference in London: 'Over the last year, I've been wrestling with how we tackle problems in maternity and neonatal units, and I've come to the realisation that while there is action we can take now, we have to acknowledge that this has become systemic. 'It's not just a few bad units. Up and down the country, maternity units are failing, hospitals are failing, trusts are failing, regulators are failing. 'There's too much obfuscation, too much passing the buck and giving lip service.' Mr Streeting apologised on behalf of the NHS, having met families in Nottingham and around the country whose children have died or been injured. Senior midwife Donna Ockenden is currently examining how hundreds of babies died or were injured in the care of Nottingham University Hospitals Trust. Mr Streeting said: 'All of them have had to fight for truth and justice, they describe being ignored, gaslit, lied to, manipulated and damaged further by the inability for a trust to simply be honest with them that something has gone wrong. 'I want to say publicly how sorry I am, sorry for what the NHS has put them through, sorry for the way they've been treated since by the state and sorry that we haven't put this right yet, because these families are owed more than an apology. They're owed change, they're owed accountability and they're owed the truth.' The Health Secretary said risk is 'considerably higher' than it should be for women and babies because of a 'crisis' in maternity and neo-natal services. He added: 'Within the past 15 years, we've seen appalling scandals that blew the lid on issues ranging from care, safety, culture and oversight: Shrewsbury, Telford, East Kent, Nottingham. 'The last government responded with initiatives like Better Births in 2016 and the maternity transformation programme. 'But, despite improvements on some metrics, inequalities in maternal and neo-natal outcomes have become more visible, not less. The rate of late maternal deaths has been consistently rising. 'Babies of black ethnicity are twice as likely to be stillborn than babies of white ethnicity, and black women are still two to three times more likely to die during pregnancy or shortly after birth than white women. 'Tragically, that gap is closing slightly, but partly because more white women are dying in childbirth.' Other high-profile scandals had deepened the public's mistrust in the state, Mr Streeting continued. 'From the Horizon Post Office scandal to the infected blood scandal, the degradation of responsibility and trust in our institutions is compounding a cynicism and malaise at the ability of British politics to deliver for people. 'This is a dangerous place for a country to be. 'If we do not admit the scale of the failure in maternity services, we're condemning ourselves to etching that mistrust deeper. 'If we cannot admit openly that we as institutions and as a state got this wrong, we'll never be able to fix it or rebuild that trust. 'Too many children have died because of state failure and I will not allow it to continue under my watch.' The new investigation will consist of two parts. The first will investigate trusts of greatest concern at the moment, including Leeds, Gloucester, Mid and South Essex and Sussex, 'to hold them to account for improvement', Mr Streeting said. He added: 'I'm currently discussing with Leeds families the best way to grip the challenges brought to light in that trust by their campaigning, reports in the media and the latest Care Quality Commission (CQC) report, and I'll be ordering an investigation into nine specific cases identified by families in Sussex …' The second part of the investigation will be a 'system-wide' look at maternity and neonatal care, uniting lessons from past maternity inquiries to create one 'clear set of actions' designed to improve national NHS care. A National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by Mr Streeting, has also been set up, made up of experts and bereaved families. The investigation will begin this summer and report back by December. A new digital system will be rolled out to all maternity services by November to flag potential safety concerns in trusts, while an anti-discrimination programme to tackle inequalities is being launched. Asked about the cost of the review, Mr Streeting said: 'I suspect it will be somewhat less than the enormous costs we pay in clinical negligence claims. 'Probably the most shocking statistic in this area is that we are paying out more in clinical negligence for maternity failures than we are spending on maternity services. That's how bad things are. 'So, putting together a review team, undertaking the level of analytical work required to produce a really good, high-quality evidence-based report is a drop in the ocean compared to the price of failure.' Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, said: 'Despite the hard work of staff, too many women are experiencing unacceptable maternity care and families continue to be let down by the NHS when they need us most. 'This rapid national investigation must mark a line in the sand for maternity care – setting out one set of clear actions for NHS leaders to ensure high quality care for all. 'Transparency will be key to understanding variation and fixing poor care – by shining a spotlight on the areas of greatest failure we can hold failing trusts to account. 'Each year, over half a million babies are born under our care and maternity safety rightly impacts public trust in the NHS – so we must act immediately to improve outcomes for the benefit of mothers, babies, families and staff.' The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said maternity services are 'at, or even beyond, breaking point'. RCM chief executive Gill Walton said: 'Every woman and family should leave maternity and neonatal services whole, happy and healthy. 'Yet we know that, for far too many, that isn't their experience. 'Systemic failings and a lack of attention to the warning signs have let those families down and let down the hardworking staff who are trying so hard to provide the care they deserve. 'Everyone involved in maternity services: the midwifery community, obstetricians, anaesthetists, sonographers and, of course, the women and families in their care; knows that maternity services are at, or even beyond, breaking point. 'This renewed focus and commitment by the Health Secretary to deliver change is welcome, and we will do everything we can to support him in doing so.' Professor Ranee Thakar, president of the RCOG, said: 'The maternity workforce is on its knees, with many now leaving the profession.' She said that 'for years, maternity units have had too few staff, too little time for training and lacked modern equipment and facilities, resulting in women and babies being harmed.' She urged the Government to 'not to lose sight of funding and workforce shortages within this'.
Leader Live
34 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Streeting launches investigation into maternity services after families ‘gaslit'
Wes Streeting said that 'up and down' the country 'maternity units are failing, hospitals are failing, trusts are failing, regulators are failing' and there was 'too much passing the buck'. Mr Streeting, who has been meeting families who have lost babies to poor maternity care, told the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) conference in London: 'Over the last year, I've been wrestling with how we tackle problems in maternity and neonatal units, and I've come to the realisation that while there is action we can take now, we have to acknowledge that this has become systemic. 'It's not just a few bad units. Up and down the country, maternity units are failing, hospitals are failing, trusts are failing, regulators are failing. 'There's too much obfuscation, too much passing the buck and giving lip service.' Mr Streeting apologised on behalf of the NHS, having met families in Nottingham and around the country whose children have died or been injured. Senior midwife Donna Ockenden is currently examining how hundreds of babies died or were injured in the care of Nottingham University Hospitals Trust. Mr Streeting said: 'All of them have had to fight for truth and justice, they describe being ignored, gaslit, lied to, manipulated and damaged further by the inability for a trust to simply be honest with them that something has gone wrong. 'I want to say publicly how sorry I am, sorry for what the NHS has put them through, sorry for the way they've been treated since by the state and sorry that we haven't put this right yet, because these families are owed more than an apology. They're owed change, they're owed accountability and they're owed the truth.' The Health Secretary said risk is 'considerably higher' than it should be for women and babies because of a 'crisis' in maternity and neo-natal services. He added: 'Within the past 15 years, we've seen appalling scandals that blew the lid on issues ranging from care, safety, culture and oversight: Shrewsbury, Telford, East Kent, Nottingham. 'The last government responded with initiatives like Better Births in 2016 and the maternity transformation programme. 'But, despite improvements on some metrics, inequalities in maternal and neo-natal outcomes have become more visible, not less. The rate of late maternal deaths has been consistently rising. 'Babies of black ethnicity are twice as likely to be stillborn than babies of white ethnicity, and black women are still two to three times more likely to die during pregnancy or shortly after birth than white women. 'Tragically, that gap is closing slightly, but partly because more white women are dying in childbirth.' Other high-profile scandals had deepened the public's mistrust in the state, Mr Streeting continued. 'From the Horizon Post Office scandal to the infected blood scandal, the degradation of responsibility and trust in our institutions is compounding a cynicism and malaise at the ability of British politics to deliver for people. 'This is a dangerous place for a country to be. 'If we do not admit the scale of the failure in maternity services, we're condemning ourselves to etching that mistrust deeper. 'If we cannot admit openly that we as institutions and as a state got this wrong, we'll never be able to fix it or rebuild that trust. 'Too many children have died because of state failure and I will not allow it to continue under my watch.' The new investigation will consist of two parts. The first will investigate trusts of greatest concern at the moment, including Leeds, Gloucester, Mid and South Essex and Sussex, 'to hold them to account for improvement', Mr Streeting said. He added: 'I'm currently discussing with Leeds families the best way to grip the challenges brought to light in that trust by their campaigning, reports in the media and the latest Care Quality Commission (CQC) report, and I'll be ordering an investigation into nine specific cases identified by families in Sussex …' The second part of the investigation will be a 'system-wide' look at maternity and neonatal care, uniting lessons from past maternity inquiries to create one 'clear set of actions' designed to improve national NHS care. A National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by Mr Streeting, has also been set up, made up of experts and bereaved families. The investigation will begin this summer and report back by December. A new digital system will be rolled out to all maternity services by November to flag potential safety concerns in trusts, while an anti-discrimination programme to tackle inequalities is being launched. Asked about the cost of the review, Mr Streeting said: 'I suspect it will be somewhat less than the enormous costs we pay in clinical negligence claims. 'Probably the most shocking statistic in this area is that we are paying out more in clinical negligence for maternity failures than we are spending on maternity services. That's how bad things are. 'So, putting together a review team, undertaking the level of analytical work required to produce a really good, high-quality evidence-based report is a drop in the ocean compared to the price of failure.' Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, said: 'Despite the hard work of staff, too many women are experiencing unacceptable maternity care and families continue to be let down by the NHS when they need us most. 'This rapid national investigation must mark a line in the sand for maternity care – setting out one set of clear actions for NHS leaders to ensure high quality care for all. 'Transparency will be key to understanding variation and fixing poor care – by shining a spotlight on the areas of greatest failure we can hold failing trusts to account. 'Each year, over half a million babies are born under our care and maternity safety rightly impacts public trust in the NHS – so we must act immediately to improve outcomes for the benefit of mothers, babies, families and staff.' The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said maternity services are 'at, or even beyond, breaking point'. RCM chief executive Gill Walton said: 'Every woman and family should leave maternity and neonatal services whole, happy and healthy. 'Yet we know that, for far too many, that isn't their experience. 'Systemic failings and a lack of attention to the warning signs have let those families down and let down the hardworking staff who are trying so hard to provide the care they deserve. 'Everyone involved in maternity services: the midwifery community, obstetricians, anaesthetists, sonographers and, of course, the women and families in their care; knows that maternity services are at, or even beyond, breaking point. 'This renewed focus and commitment by the Health Secretary to deliver change is welcome, and we will do everything we can to support him in doing so.' Professor Ranee Thakar, president of the RCOG, said: 'The maternity workforce is on its knees, with many now leaving the profession.' She said that 'for years, maternity units have had too few staff, too little time for training and lacked modern equipment and facilities, resulting in women and babies being harmed.' She urged the Government to 'not to lose sight of funding and workforce shortages within this'.
Leader Live
34 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Government launches national investigation into NHS maternity services
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said that 'up and down' the country 'maternity units are failing, hospitals are failing, trusts are failing, regulators are failing' and there was 'too much passing the buck'. Mr Streeting, who has been meeting families who have lost babies to poor maternity care, told the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) conference in London: 'Over the last year, I've been wrestling with how we tackle problems in maternity and neonatal units, and I've come to the realisation that while there is action we can take now, we have to acknowledge that this has become systemic. 'It's not just a few bad units. Up and down the country, maternity units are failing, hospitals are failing, trusts are failing, regulators are failing. 'There's too much obfuscation, too much passing the buck and giving lip service.' Mr Streeting apologised on behalf of the NHS, having met families in Nottingham and around the country whose children have died or been injured. Senior midwife Donna Ockenden is currently examining how hundreds of babies died or were injured in the care of Nottingham University Hospitals Trust. Mr Streeting said: 'All of them have had to fight for truth and justice, they describe being ignored, gaslit, lied to, manipulated and damaged further by the inability for a trust to simply be honest with them that something has gone wrong. 'I want to say publicly how sorry I am, sorry for what the NHS has put them through, sorry for the way they've been treated since by the state and sorry that we haven't put this right yet, because these families are owed more than an apology. They're owed change, they're owed accountability and they're owed the truth.' The Health Secretary said risk is 'considerably higher' than it should be for women and babies because of a 'crisis' in maternity and neo-natal services. He said giving birth carries risk, but 'that risk is considerably higher than it should be because of the state of the crisis in our maternity and neonatal services.' He added: 'Within the past 15 years, we've seen appalling scandals that blew the lid on issues ranging from care, safety, culture and oversight – Shrewsbury, Telford, East Kent, Nottingham. 'The last government responded with initiatives like Better Births in 2016 and the maternity transformation programme. 'But, despite improvements on some metrics, inequalities in maternal and neo-natal outcomes have become more visible, not less. The rate of late maternal deaths has been consistently rising. 'Babies of black ethnicity are twice as likely to be stillborn than babies of white ethnicity, and black women are still two to three times more likely to die during pregnancy or shortly after birth than white women. 'Tragically, that gap is closing slightly, but partly because more white women are dying in childbirth.' Other high-profile scandals had deepened the public's mistrust in the state, Mr Streeting continued. He said: 'From the Horizon Post Office scandal to the infected blood scandal, the degradation of responsibility and trust in our institutions is compounding a cynicism and malaise at the ability of British politics to deliver for people. 'This is a dangerous place for a country to be. 'If we do not admit the scale of the failure in maternity services, we're condemning ourselves to etching that mistrust deeper. 'If we cannot admit openly that we as institutions and as a state got this wrong, we'll never be able to fix it or rebuild that trust. 'Too many children have died because of state failure and I will not allow it to continue under my watch.' The new investigation will consist of two parts. The first will investigate trusts of greatest concern at the moment, including Leeds, Gloucester, Mid and South Essex and Sussex, 'to hold them to account for improvement', Mr Streeting said. He added: 'I'm currently discussing with Leeds families the best way to grip the challenges brought to light in that trust by their campaigning, reports in the media and the latest Care Quality Commission (CQC) report, and I'll be ordering an investigation into nine specific cases identified by families in Sussex…' The second part of the investigation will be a 'system-wide' look at maternity and neonatal care, uniting lessons from past maternity inquiries to create one 'clear set of actions' designed to improve national NHS care. A National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by Mr Streeting, has also been set up, made up of experts and bereaved families. The investigation will begin this summer and report back by December. A new digital system will be rolled out to all maternity services by November to flag potential safety concerns in trusts. An anti-discrimination programme to tackle inequalities in care for black, Asian, and other communities is also being launched. Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, said: 'Despite the hard work of staff, too many women are experiencing unacceptable maternity care and families continue to be let down by the NHS when they need us most. 'This rapid national investigation must mark a line in the sand for maternity care – setting out one set of clear actions for NHS leaders to ensure high quality care for all. 'Transparency will be key to understanding variation and fixing poor care – by shining a spotlight on the areas of greatest failure we can hold failing trusts to account. 'Each year, over half a million babies are born under our care and maternity safety rightly impacts public trust in the NHS – so we must act immediately to improve outcomes for the benefit of mothers, babies, families and staff.' The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said maternity services are 'at, or even beyond, breaking point'. RCM chief executive Gill Walton said: 'Every woman and family should leave maternity and neonatal services whole, happy and healthy. 'Yet we know that, for far too many, that isn't their experience. 'Systemic failings and a lack of attention to the warning signs have let those families down and let down the hardworking staff who are trying so hard to provide the care they deserve. 'Everyone involved in maternity services – the midwifery community, obstetricians, anaesthetists, sonographers and, of course, the women and families in their care – knows that maternity services are at, or even beyond, breaking point. 'This renewed focus and commitment by the Health Secretary to deliver change is welcome, and we will do everything we can to support him in doing so.' Professor Ranee Thakar, president of the RCOG, said: 'The maternity workforce is on its knees, with many now leaving the profession.' She said that 'for years, maternity units have had too few staff, too little time for training and lacked modern equipment and facilities, resulting in women and babies being harmed.' She urged the Government to 'not to lose sight of funding and workforce shortages within this.'
