Baywatch alum Nicole Eggert is speaking out about her “rough” journey with breast cancer.
“This hasn’t been a breezy sale through life,” Eggert, 51, told People on Monday, January 8, revealing her diagnosis. “I always read inspirational quotes and corny stuff, but it gets me through.”
Eggert was diagnosed with stage 2 cribriform carcinoma breast cancer last month after experiencing “terrible pain” in October 2023.
“It really was throbbing and hurting,” she recalled. “I immediately went to my general practitioner, and she told me I had to immediately go get it looked at. But the problem was I just couldn’t get an appointment. Everything was booked. So, I had to wait until the end of November to get it done.”
Eggert underwent a discovery mammogram and three biopsies before being diagnosed with cancer. The actress will need surgery to remove the lump that Eggert “definitely feels” and said “needs to be taken out.”
Eggert admits that she doesn’t know if she should “do treatment before the surgery” or the other way around.
“I have panics where I’m like, just get this out of me,” she told People. “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.”
Aside from her role as Roberta “Summer” Quinn on Baywatch, Eggert played Marci Ferguson on Who’s the Boss? on a recurring basis from 1985 to 1986. Eggert is also the mother of two daughters, Dilyn, 25, and Keegan, 12.
Eggert recalled “the horror” on Keegan’s face when revealing the diagnosis.
“It immediately made me realize, there’s just no succumbing to this,” she said. “This is something I have to get through. This is something that I have to beat. She needs me more than anything and anybody.”
Eggert is “really appreciative” that her friends have since created a GoFundMe page to raise money for her “overwhelming” health battle.
“I’m just doing everything I can not to spiral,” she explained. “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 also praised the “outpouring of love” she’s received since going public with the diagnosis.
“It changes your whole day and other people just don’t have that,” she explained, noting her plans to start a non-profit for single parents who “don’t have anybody to turn to” in these types of situations.
“I really want to figure out a way to give back to other parents that are in my situation that aren’t as fortunate,” she added.
