Dad’s death, cancer and divorce have only made me stronger
‘I went through a very dark period’
SCOTTISH actress Daniela Nardini has spoken for the first time about her battle with breast cancer.
The This Life star said she has been through the ‘five worst years of her life’ including the death of her father and her marriage breakdown.
These two heartbreaks were followed up by a breast cancer diagnosis which resulted in a mastectomy.
The 52-year-old, who shot to fame as feisty, foul-mouthed barrister anna Forbes in the cult 90s series, has revealed her battle in the hope of inspiring women to get checks.
She said: ‘I went through a very dark period. Sometimes I wonder if it was all the emotional stuff I was going through that caused my cancer. a couple of years down the road, I feel as if I’ve emerged stronger and a better person. anna would be proud.’
It has been two years since Miss Nardini, who shares a flat in GlasI gow’s West end with her daughter, Claudia, 13, received her diagnosis.
The cancer was found in her left breast after she was invited for a routine NHS mammogram. Four months later she was called in for tests.
She said: ‘I thought nothing of it because they didn’t seem to be urgent about it. So I nipped in on my way to somewhere else and suddenly they were saying there were a couple of areas they didn’t like the look of and before I knew what was happening, they were taking a biopsy.
‘I remember feeling as if I was in a complete daze, thinking, “What the hell’s going on here?”.
‘It turned out it had already spread into one lymph node, so if I hadn’t gone when I did, in all likelihood it would have continued through my lymphatic system within months.
‘That frightened me because of my age. What if I hadn’t been so vigilant? The bottom just fell out of my world.
had to get my friend to come and pick me up, I was so shaken.’
Support came from her ex-husband Ivan Stein, an Oxford-educated former civil servant turned chef. The pair were together for 13 years but split after the death of Miss Nardini’s father aldo, 80, in 2015.
She said: ‘There’s still love there. Ivan took me to my first hospital appointment. He helped me sit down with Claudia and tell her about what I was going through. She was 11 and she asked “are you going to die?”.
‘I said, “No, I’m not going to die, I’m going to get better”. She said, “That’s Ok then”. as long as she knew I wasn’t going to die, she didn’t care if I had one breast or two breasts.’
During her recovery she has turned to art therapy to help her move on.
It was former Doctor Who actor Christopher eccleston’s admission last year that he had long been battling poor mental health that made Miss Nardini realise she could speak out to help others. She said: ‘It’s quite taboo for a man to bring that up and it was so brave. anyone reading it who had been through a difficult time could relate to it.
‘I’m warning women to have regular check-ups and make sure they attend call-backs. The consequences are so much worse if this disease is not caught in time.’