Hollyoaks legend Ali Bastian shares emotional cancer update after mastectomy

Ali Bastian has revealed that she is ‘cancer free’, reflecting on her healing after a successful mastectomy and chemotherapy in a new heartfelt social media post.

The 43-year-old Hollyoaks star took to her Instagram page on Tuesday (March 4) to share a series of photos. Ali included two black-and-white portraits and one colour headshot, where she gracefully poses in a black sweater, highlighting her blue eyes with black eyeliner, and showcasing her hair growth while smiling. Having just turned 43 on February 27, the actress took a moment to express deep gratitude for the birthday messages and support. In a lengthy caption, Ali wrote: ”Thank you so much for all your Birthday messages last week, I’m honestly so grateful for all the love and support from my little corner of social media.”

She went on to share positive health updates. Ali revealed that she's in her final week of radiotherapy, marking the end of her active treatment, after a successful mastectomy in January that confirmed her chemotherapy had worked.

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“As I sit here right now, I’m free from Cancer,” the Berkshire native exclaimed. Ali continued: “I can’t even believe it.

"I have the most incredible team at CUH and I’m so grateful for every single one of them.” The mum-of-two went on to thank her nurses and consultants, acknowledging their compassion, time, and emotional support throughout her challenging treatment.

She also praised their dedication to fighting cancer, hoping one day their efforts will benefit everyone affected. “To be coming out of the other side of this feels unreal, after the shock of a diagnosis it’s hard to let in the light and believe that it might just be ok,” Ali admitted.

She further noted: ”The road back to my life won’t be a linear one… and I will share with you as always, as much of my truth of this experience as I can.”

Ali highlighted all the support she's received, emphasising that people undergoing cancer treatment need unconditional love and support. She concluded by offering the hopeful reminder, "When it’s dark, look for stars".

Her post stirred strong emotions on social media, as one Instagram user commented: “Beautiful & so inspiring to so many.” A person wrote: “You’re so beautiful Ali inside and out, my journey is just beginning and I have been following you along with others as it’s such a lonely feeling, you’ve truly made a difference and I read this post with tears in my eyes! Keep healing, we are all here with you xxxx.”

Someone else penned: “Oh Ali that's incredible news. I was thinking of you when I had my mammogram a couple of weeks ago. What you've been through and how open, honest and brave you've been. I'm so incredibly happy for you and your beautiful little family xxx.”

A separate individual chimed in: “Incredible news. So so happy to read this and big up to all the beautiful, compassionate nurses/doctors along your journey and so many others.”

This follows Ali’s previous update on her cancer journey, where she rang the bell after completing five months of chemotherapy for her stage two breast cancer. At the time, she acknowledged her oncology team and fans, while reflecting on the challenges of the treatment process.

The star known for playing Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap, shared a sweet video of herself and husband David O'Mahony, where she said: “I got to ring (the tiny little bell I stole from my kid's music box as they don't do the [bell] thing here in Ireland) after five months of chemotherapy. I'm still halfway through this last cycle, so much still to process on every level.”

Ali continued: “Chemo is major. The oncology nursing team at the Dunmanway CUH are INCREDIBLE, I said to them as I left… it's not that I never want to see them again because I love them all so much, I just hope the next time I do we all have a glass of Prosecco in our hands raising money and awareness for all their incredible work.”

Ali was diagnosed with breast cancer in June, describing the diagnosis as a "total shock”. She told OK! at the time that she still had mornings where she woke up and had "forgotten" about it, but then she would "suddenly remember" her diagnosis.

She had first discovered a lump when she was breastfeeding her daughter Isabella. “I hadn’t been breastfeeding Izzy at night but then David flew back to London for work and suddenly she was feeding like crazy,” Ali recalled.

She continued: “I was thinking, ‘Maybe she’s having a growth spurt or something.’ And because of that, my boobs felt sore.

“The next morning I woke up and thought, ‘Ouch, this really hurts.’ And that’s when I felt a lump.”

According to the NHS, the main symptoms of breast cancer in women may include a lump or swelling in the breast, chest, or armpit, changes in the skin of the breast (such as dimpling or redness), alterations in the size or shape of one or both breasts, nipple discharge (not related to pregnancy or breastfeeding), changes in the appearance of the nipple (such as inversion or a rash), and persistent pain in the breast or armpit.

It’s important to note that breast pain that comes and goes is typically not a symptom of breast cancer.