The partner of Emmerdale star Leah Bracknell, 53, who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in October 2016, has revealed that her latest cancer treatment has failed.
“We have found out the drug she was on definitely isn’t working,” her partner Jez Hughes wrote on her crowdfunding page. “So she has been off this for a while while we find out about the next available steps.
“In fact we now think the drug probably stopped working back in March or even before, so for the last five months or so she has been prospering solely on the ‘alternative’ treatments we have set in place.
“This is due to the incredible support we have had, as these treatments and private consultations aren’t cheap, so we are so very grateful for the opportunity to keep Leah strong and well in this way, as we really believe it is working.”
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Jez revealed that they are planning to take Leah, whose real name is Alison, to the private Hallwang clinic in Germany for more treatment. Fans of the star have been donating to her crowdfunding page to help with the costs.
Leah, who played Emmerdale’s Zoe Tate for for 16 years, recently wrote on Twitter: “Thank you for all your love and support, it means soooo much. #gliding Gloriously Living in Defiance of Expectations [sic].”
Last year Leah revealed that her mother’s Chinese genes made her eligible for an experimental drug which targets cancer cells directly.
As this has failed to work, she is pinning her hopes on the Hallwang clinic, which claims to provide “cutting-edge treatment”.
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Earlier this year, Leah told the Loose Women panel that she initially felt angry at the diagnosis but then began to view it differently.
“I don’t want to wake up every morning feeling fearful,” she said. “I wake up feeling happy, feeling grateful.”
The mother of two said she felt calm “80 per cent of the time”, thanks to her experience as a yoga teacher.
She is also writing a blog about her experiences.
“I’m really lucky that I have tools that I can call upon, a way of looking at the world that makes me less fearful of it,” she said.