Victoria Ekanoye diagnosed with breast cancer

Former 'Coronation Street' star Victoria Ekanoye has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The 39-year-old actress explained how she discovered a lump in her breast while feeding her 10-month-old son Theo, who she shares with husband Jonny Lomas.

Victoria told OK! magazine: "Back in July I was feeding Theo and I noticed there was a small lump protruding at the top of my left breast.

"My mum had breast cancer at 41, and her sister at 39 – so many people in my family, in fact. So I don't really leave any time before I check these things...

"I was diagnosed on the thirteenth of October with DCIS, which is Ductal carcinoma in situ. It basically means that cells have turned cancerous within the milk ducts."

Victoria – who played Angie Appleton in the ITV soap – added that she has been fortunate to be diagnosed early.

She said: "We're being really optimistic, and positive, and really lucky that we've caught it as early as we have. I don't know if lucky is the right word, but that's how I feel."

Victoria previously revealed that she feared losing Theo after a gruelling labour that left her "vomiting" and barely able to speak, but she was determined to push through for the sake of her little boy.

The actress – who took part in 'The X Factor: Celebrity' in 2019 and suffers from sickle cell anemia – said: "The thought of not leaving as a three is heartbreaking and that's what pushed me through.

"I was induced on 13 January when I was 39 weeks. From when I was induced to when he came, it was almost three days.

"With sickle cell it’s not advised to have a birth without painkillers as it can trigger a sickle cell crisis [episodes of pain], so I was induced and put on pain medication. But I had a really bad reaction.

"I was vomiting, I couldn’t walk and I could barely speak ... I also had chest pains, so I ended up having an ECG within 30 minutes of giving birth, as with sickle cell you can get chest syndrome, which is basically a stroke.

"It was traumatic but I can't imagine how hard it was for Jonny watching it."