Read the full interview in today\u2019s Body+Soul<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cIt was such a drawn-out process [getting the diagnosis]. In a weird way, it felt like I had been preparing for weeks, so in the end I just wanted to know,\u201d O\u2019Shea said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they finally said those words \u2013 that I had cancer \u2013 I was ready to get on with things.\u201d<\/p>\n
But before she could start treatment, an MRI would soon discover another tumour \u2013 this time sitting on the part of her brain that controls her left hand. And it was one her surgeons told her they couldn\u2019t remove fully as the risk of paralysis was too high. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy surgeon removed as much as they could, and I\u2019ve only lost sensation \u2013 not total movement \u2013 in the left side of my body,\u201d O\u2019Shea said.<\/p>\n
The actor and social media influencer also opened up about the toll the treatment has taken on her \u2013 and those around her.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome mornings, it feels like I\u2019m waking up in a different body. I\u2019ve gained weight during treatment, and recently my legs have been so swollen that I can\u2019t get out of bed without a cane,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can still only walk for about 15 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to accept right now that I am disabled. I\u2019m learning to work with the body I have, rather than trying to force it to be the body it once was.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the days when I need to cry, I feel those feelings and let it out. And on the good days, I choose to really enjoy the moment and not focus on future hardship,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As the youngest of three siblings, O\u2019Shea told Body+Soul her thoughts are also with her family<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the youngest and the only daughter in my family \u2013 I have two older brothers \u2013 so seeing the ripple effect on my parents and brothers was hard,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know our first instincts to reach out to the person who has been diagnosed, but I\u2019ve realised we also need to check in on the people closest to them. We have to support the support system.\u201d <\/p>\n
O\u2019Shea is part of a cancer support group for women aged between 18 and 30 called Brain Cancer Baddies and has also started her own non-profit CEARE raising funds to gift bonded wigs to cancer patients across Australia.<\/p>\n
She also hasn\u2019t given up on her passion for acting. <\/p>\n
\u201cI want to work in LA and live in New York, and even explore projects in the UK,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, more than anything, I just want to feel healthy and happy. My diagnosis has been a necessary perspective shift. My focus is now on spending time with the people I love, creating memories and laughing more\u201d.<\/p>\n
Read the full interview in today\u2019s Body+Soul<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"She won hearts playing Darcy Callahan on hit soapie Home and Away. But it\u2019s her latest battle that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":646389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134],"class_list":["post-646388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=646388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/646389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=646388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=646388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=646388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}