The former “ER” and “Doctor Who” star says her body was warning her something was seriously wrong.
Actress Alex Kingston is opening up about a terrifying moment that led to her discovering she had cancer.
The ER and Doctor Who alum revealed that she was diagnosed with fallopian tube cancer after a frightening incident where she hemorrhaged on stage during a live performance — yet kept going until the curtain fell.
The 62-year-old shared with The Independent that she had been feeling off for about a year and a half, experiencing bloating and body aches. She thought it was just part of aging. “I assumed it was old age,” Kingston said. “I thought, ‘Okay, this is what it’s like to be in my sixties.’”
But her body was trying to send her a message. She later noticed blood in her urine but didn’t think it was serious. “I never went down the cancer road in my head,” she admitted. “I thought maybe it was a urinary infection or fibroids.”
Things took a frightening turn last summer while she was performing in The Other Boleyn Girl at the Chichester Festival in the U.K. During one show, she began to bleed uncontrollably on stage. Thanks to her heavy costume and knee pads, the audience had no idea what was happening.
“That night on stage, I hemorrhaged,” Kingston recalled. “I just knocked my knees together and prayed it would soak everything up.” Even as she rushed backstage, she was determined to finish the performance. “The wardrobe women were incredible,” she said. “We shoved some pads in my pants, and I went back on stage and carried on. That was how we finished the show.”
After finally seeking medical care, Kingston learned the truth — she had cancer in her fallopian tubes. Thankfully, it hadn’t spread, but she needed a hysterectomy and radiation treatment. “The diagnosis was tough to accept,” she said, “but the minute I had the operation, I suddenly felt like myself again.”
Now recovered, Kingston is embracing life with a new perspective. She’s currently competing on the British show Strictly Come Dancing (the U.K. version of Dancing with the Stars), saying her health scare pushed her to live more boldly. “When they approached me, I thought, ‘Life is too short,’” she explained. “Go for what you secretly long to do.”
Kingston also hopes her story raises awareness about womb and reproductive cancers, which she calls “sneaky” because symptoms are often overlooked. “The body does know,” she said. “It’s so important to listen to it and get checked if something doesn’t feel right.”
