Nixon reveals secret cancer fight

The actress revealed a family history of the illness

Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon has said that she was treated for breast cancer and kept it to herself.

The star, who played flame-haired lawyer Miranda Hobbes in the comedy series, told US TV show Nightline she "didn't really want to make it public".

Nixon was diagnosed a year and a half ago and said she even scheduled surgery so she would not miss a performance of the play she was starring in.

The actress will co-star in the Sex and the City film, due out next month.

Ambassador

"I didn't want paparazzi at the hospital while I was going through this," said Nixon, who said that one of the few people she shared the news with was partner Christine Marinoni.

The 42-year-old told the ABC network programme that she felt a diagnosis of breast cancer was likely as her mother had suffered from the disease.

"I felt scared. I thought, 'Oh, I don't want this to be happening'. I was very cognisant of if it's going to happen, this is the best way for it to happen, that it's found so early and we can just get right on it," said Nixon.

The actress has made a good recovery following surgery and a course of radiotherapy, and has become an official ambassador for cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

The topic of breast cancer was a storyline in Sex and the City, when Samantha, one of the four main characters, was diagnosed with the illness.

Nixon said the show tackled the subject "beautifully".

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version