Marlene Barrett, who plays nurse Maggie Lockwood on NBC’s “Chicago Med,” revealed Tuesday that she was diagnosed with both uterine and ovarian cancer.
“I’m a very private person, but I felt a responsibility to tell my story,” added the actress Peoplerevealed that doctors found a “football-sized” tumor on her uterus and left ovary in July.
“When my character passed away from breast cancer, I had a horde of people going through social media. They gave me courage, and so I felt a sense of inevitability to meet their hearts where they met me,” she said, referring to Maggie’s fictional battle with breast cancer in 2019.
“The initial experience was a shock, a blow to my femininity,” said Barrett, who is also known for her work on “The Wire” and “Damage.” “I didn’t believe them, but when they showed me the CT scan, I went, ‘Oh my word.’ The first questions were, ‘Am I going to live?’ I just fell into my husband’s arms. I still take my breath away when I think about it.”
After an operation to repair a hernia, Barrett’s first symptoms began in April, “there was an accumulation of fluid”. [in my abdomen] that I can’t move. I felt like I was nine months pregnant. And I also had shortness of breath, but no pain, which was interesting,” she said.
After undergoing aggressive chemotherapy and a hysterectomy, she said, “I found this courage and I just leaned down and said, ‘I’m going to face this.
Knowing that he was going to lose his hair, he decided to shave his head himself. “I didn’t want to power up the chemo,” she said. “My hair has always been the essence of beauty. But I took my own razor and I shaved my head. I did it in front of my kids so they could see it was still mom. I cried, I cried, I cried But it was a beautiful experience to do so in front of him.”
Barrett has 11-month-old twins Joshua-Jireh and Ahne-Nurya with her husband, Pastor Gavin Barrett.
She’s still working on “Chicago Med,” but takes naps and days off as needed. And she’s rocked by the support of the cast and crew. “I have shaved my head to ask people on set to support me,” she said.
