Home and Away star Alea O’Shea diagnosed with brain cancer

Australian actress Alea O’Shea has shared a devastating health update, revealing that she has been diagnosed with brain cancer.

The former Home and Away actress, who made her screen debut at 12 years old, said she noticed something was wrong about six weeks ago when her smile became uneven and, when talking, it felt harder to get her words out.

It then progressed to losing feeling in two of her fingers, then her wrist and then her toe.

O’Shea, 25, said she thought she had a pinched nerve and went to see a physiotherapist who “immediately realised it was beyond his scope and sent me to have a brain scan and that’s how we found (the cancer)“.

Results from a biopsy on her birthday confirmed the far more sinister cause of her symptoms.

O’Shea is best known for her role as Darcy Callahan on Home and Away, appearing between 2011 and 2014 and then again in 2016 to 2017.

She has also appeared in guest roles in US productions including Kung Fu, So Help Me Todd and Sight Unseen and played the lead role in the Australian feature film Finally Me and starred in the independent feature Through the Door, according to IMDB.

Despite the scary diagnosis, O’Shea has maintained a sense of humour, giving an update on how the cancer has affected her so far.

“Can I flip you off? No. Thumbs up? No. Or hold things? No,” she joked.

“But the good news is, where it is in my brain isn’t going to affect my personality. I’m still going to be as hilarious and have the gift of the yap.”

O’Shea said doctors have warned that after surgery she could face losing her hair and paralysis down the left side of her body, “but we have to play it by ear”.

“So in the coming months, I might be doing videos one-handed, I might disappear when I need to, but mostly I’m going to be showing up as me every single day that I can. I am genuinely so blessed to be so well supported, independent and, like, able to keep doing what I love throughout this fight,” she said.

“To everyone who follows me and has been invested in my journey thus far regardless thank you so much for being here and thank you for staying though this chapter

“This isn’t going to become my whole personality, it’s just another part of my story and if it can bring some perspective, comfort or positivity to people out there going through it whilst helping me get through it that’s all I could ever want.”

O’Shea said she hoped others could learn from her experience and advocate for their health.

“When something feels off even slightly, pay attention to it and find the right professionals who will take you seriously.”