DERBY actress Gwen Taylor says she "feels guilty" as she is winning her fight with cancer.
The 75-year-old's revelation that she is battling the disease came on the day she learned her Calendar Girls co-star, Lynda Bellingham, had died from cancer.
The pair were part of the stage play's touring cast in 2011.
Speaking exclusively to the Derby Telegraph, Gwen said: "I was in the bathroom listening to the radio when it came on that she had passed away. It was just so shocking and deeply upsetting. She was such a nice person.
"It made me think how lucky I am. I had breast cancer and underwent surgery in August. I also had radiotherapy but I haven't needed chemotherapy.
"I'm lucky because the lump was quite tiny and we managed to catch it early. Of course, it was nowhere near as serious as what we've seen happen with Lynda.
"I feel like there's a future for me and I'm really pleased. But I feel guilty – I'm one of the lucky ones."
Gwen – best known for playing the title role in ITV sitcom Barbara, as well as Ann Foster in Coronation Street – said her cancer ordeal was not over yet.
She said: "The thing we have to remember is you don't get cured, you become a cancer survivor. There's always the chance it might come back.
"It's that kind of horrible disease and you live with that. I've got to go and see a specialist in December to make sure everything is fine."
Last month, Lynda, latterly a panelist on daytime TV chat show Loose Women, revealed she had only weeks to live after deciding to end her chemotherapy. She had hoped to survive until January so that she could spend one final Christmas with her family.
Her agent, Sue Latimer, said the 66-year-old – who was best known for her role as the mother in long-running Oxo advertisements – died "in her husband's arms" on Sunday. She had been suffering cancer of the colon since July 2013.
Gwen, who was born in Crich before moving to Alvaston, where she lived until she was 25, now lives in London and is married to playwright Graham Reid.
She said she was deeply saddened by the news of Lynda's death.
She said: "Bernie Nolan (another star of the Calendar Girls stage tour) of course died and now Lynda has, too. It's very sad. I was shocked when I heard how bad Lynda's situation was a few weeks ago.
"When I heard her talk on the radio, I thought it was one of the bravest things I've heard. The way she spoke about it really got me.
"She was a wonderful person. She worked so hard and tirelessly and did so much for charity.
"Off the screen and stage, she was exactly the same smashing woman.
"She was very stylish. I would arrive at the stage door looking like a tramp and she would look like a million dollars with her clothes. She always looked smart and was a very nice person to be around."
Gwen, who has also starred in TV hits Heartbeat, A Bit Of A Do and Duty Free, said she hoped a cure for all cancers could be found soon.
She said: "It's such a cruel disease. It doesn't have any pity for anyone. It seems to hit everybody – the good, bad and ugly.
"I wish we could do something to rid the earth of this disease. One gives money to the Cancer Research charity and I just hope they can come up with the answers.
"It's frightening – one in three will get cancer at some time in their life. I just can't believe that."
Alexandra Sitwell, owner of Renishaw Hall, where Lynda spent a week filming for an ITV documentary last year said: "She was a special woman.
"We all enjoyed her company whilst she was at Renishaw and she made the whole experience such fun.
"She was very cosy, warm and great company, a real life-enhancer. Tragic for her lovely husband and family as well as for all of us."
Lynda's husband, Michael Pattemore, told Yours magazine, for which his late wife was a columnist: "I just want her to be remembered as an actress more than anything, not as a celebrity or one of the Loose Women."
MEDICAL ADVICE FROM THE EXPERTS
BREAST CANCER – the most common type of cancer in the UK – can be treated before it spreads to other parts of the body, if it is spotted early enough.
Health experts say there is "no right or wrong way" for a woman to check her breasts – it is just important for her to know how they normally look and feel.
They say, this way, women can spot any changes quickly and report them to their GP.
Experts from NHS Choices say breast cancer can have a number of symptoms but the first noticeable sign is usually a lump on the breast, or area of thickened breast tissue.
They say women should also see their GP if they notice: a change in the size or shape of one or both breasts; discharge from either nipple, which may be streaked with blood; a lump or swelling in either armpit; dimpling on the skin of the breasts; a rash on or around the nipple; or a change in the appearance of your nipple.
An NHS Choices spokeswoman said: "Most breast lumps aren't cancerous but it's always best to have them checked by your doctor."
She said, as the risk of breast cancer increases with age, all women who are aged between 50 and 70 years old are invited for breast cancer screening every three years.
COLON CANCER is a form of bowel cancer – one of the most common types of the disease diagnosed in the UK.
BOWEL CANCER affects one in every 20 people in the country during their lifetime and almost nine in every 10 cases occur in people aged 60 or over.
Health experts say the three main symptoms of this cancer are blood in the stools, changes in bowel habit and abdominal pain – but they said these symptoms are common and most people with them do not have bowel cancer.
A spokesman for NHS Choices said: "These symptoms are more important as people get older. They are also more significant when they persist, despite simple treatments.
"But the symptoms of bowel cancer can be subtle and don't necessarily make you feel ill."
Treatments for bowel cancer include surgery to remove the cancerous section of bowel, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Deborah Alsina, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, said: "We were all saddened to hear of the news of Lynda Bellingham's death from advanced bowel cancer.
"But, unfortunately, it's all too common. Bowel cancer is the UK's second biggest cancer killer.
"Every year, 41,500 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer – which equates to a diagnosis every 15 minutes – and around 16,000 people die of the disease.
"Access to best treatment and care is critical and currently, in the UK, this can be patchy. Some people are dying early because of late diagnosis and variations in treatment and care. This must be addressed urgently."
