Lucy Davis, who played Dawn Tinsley in the original UK version of The Office and the hopeless romantic Dianne in Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead, has revealed she has “incurable” breast cancer.
A post from the 53-year-old actress on Instagram on Tuesday said: “I wanted to share something with you all that I’ve kept to myself for a while but for various reasons would like to share now.
“A year-and-a-half ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, which has metastasized [spread] to my bones. Specifically to my spine, right hip and my ribs. The cancer is incurable, and too late for chemo.”
She added: “The initial lump that I felt, wasn’t a ‘lump’ as such; rather a kind of hard spot. Really tiny.”
The actress noted how she “almost didn’t bother getting it checked”, urging followers not to “ignore anything” and to “get everything checked out”.
She continued: “As of now, I’m trying to live out whatever might be left of my life in as fun a way as I possibly can. I always like to find the teachable moments in anything negative that happens. And cancer has not disappointed in that regard; there’s a lot I have learned from it, and I’m grateful for that.
“I’m not scared of whatever comes next. I’m at peace with it. I’ll see my [late dog] Gracie sooner than expected, and for me, leaving my physical body just means going home. Any and all grieving is for my family; it’s far harder for them than for me.”
Davis added: “I still would like to keep working. I’m perfectly able to do so, and acting is one of the biggest joys in my life.”
Her post received and outpour of support from friends and past colleagues.
The Office US star Jenna Fischer wrote: “Beautiful post. Love you lots. And yes to working with cancer! Let’s spread that message far and wide! How working is such a comfort!”
Fischer played the shy but well-meaning receptionist Pam Beesly on the subsequent American version of the show, with Davis playing the UK counterpart.
Birmingham-born Davis played Dawn, who was also the love interest of Tim Canterbury, played by Martin Freeman in Ricky Gervais’s classic TV sitcom – which last month celebrated its 25th anniversary.
Gervais replied to her Instagram post by dropping a love heart emoji in the comments section.
Davis might be more known to nerds as Etta Candy in 2017’s Wonder Woman and Hilda Spellman in the Netflix horror series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
More recently, she played Eva in the Disney Channel’s action-comedy series The Villains of Valley View.
We can only wish the best for her and to make the most of her life.
