Coronation Street's Tracy Shaw has 'infection in the blood' amid her breast cancer battle
Coronation Street alum Tracy Shaw is dealing with an "infection in the blood" as her breast cancer fight continues.
Tracy Shaw has an "infection in [her] blood" amid her breast cancer battle.
On Tuesday (09.06.26), the Coronation Street alum, who announced her diagnosis with the disease in April, told her Instagram followers that she was discharged from the critical unit and is taking "really strong" antibiotics to fight the infection.
In a video, Tracy, 52, explained: "So I was let out last night from the critical unit because it’s better for us as cancer patients to be at home.
"The microbiologist is still super geeking over this infection. So they’re not quite sure what it is. So they’re just blasting it with some really strong antibiotics.
"I’m full of drip at the moment. So I’ll go back in today to have my second one. So, basically, I’ve just been sleeping."
Tracy - who played Maxine Peacock in the ITV soap from 1995 until 2003 - reassured fans that she is receiving the best care.
The star continued: "I’m in safe hands. Thank you to the NHS, thank you to all the nurses, thank you to my oncologist team. They are very hot on anything to do with infection when we're going through chemotherapy because it’s quite critical.
"It's just a fact. I’m not making a drama out of this."
Tracy - who, on June 7, revealed she was rushed to Accident and Emergency (A+E) over the side effects of her chemotherapy, which made her have "no strength left" - told how her blood results sparked worry with her doctors and was told to have more of her bloods tested.
The singer went on: "I felt the body really struggling on Sunday. Now, when they took the bloods on the Sunday, they looked OK, a little bit of a sign.
"But, basically, then they put it in an incubator, and it grows, and that’s what had happened, so I got the call yesterday to get back in to take more bloods.
"So they take more blood, they check my heart, they do my scans, they do a thorough body check basically, so I'm in safe hands.
"It isn't pleasant, of course, this isn't pleasant."
As Tracy made the red spots on her face clearer for her followers to see, she added: "But although they can’t pinpoint what this is, and, to be honest with you, it looks like part of the pox family.
"I have had chickenpox, I’ve had measles, but maybe this means this is circulating in the area, and I’m just low and susceptible to catch it. Basically, I'm not just going to be carrying it; I would catch it.
"So let's hope that the germ that they found will do some good to help somebody else and be able to have a medicine to recover from it, which would be wonderful.”
Tracy captioned the video: "Infection in the blood. Cancer Research UK. Without scientists, microbiologists, we wouldn’t learn about cancers.
"THANK YOU NHS. All the staff at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. My oncologist team. Couple more days of treatment, I’m in very safe hands. (sic)"
On May 28, the entertainer revealed on Instagram that she donated her blonde locks to The Little Princess Trust, a children's cancer charity.
And two days beforehand, Tracy showed off her new short blonde wig.
She has kept her fans regularly updated with her breast cancer battle and told them how much the fight has taken its toll.
In a video, Tracy said: "Each morning I wake up and know that I have to go into hospital and receive more news, which has been going on for a long time, that unknown… I just think, ‘I can’t go through with this anymore,’ but I’ve not even started my journey.
“I’ve had a good cry. I’ll go in later today, and I’ll meet some other ladies who will start the treatment with me - chemo."
In April, Tracy announced her breast cancer diagnosis in a video:
She told her Instagram followers: "I have come on just to explain a situation that is happening in my life. I have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
“Originally, I was going to be having surgery in two weeks, but because my results have come back that I am HER2 positive (positive for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2), it means I have to have chemo for five months before then, hopefully surgery to have the lumps removed and take the lymph glands out so they can do some more tests. And possibly more surgery before radiotherapy.”
She thanked her fans for checking in with her after she took time off social media to come to terms with her diagnosis privately.
