EastEnders Actress Cheryl Fergison has been pictured with her husband Yassine Al-Jemoni for the first time since revealing her secret battle with cancer.
Last month, the actress, 58, who played Heather Trot on the BBC soap, opened up about being diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2015.
Cheryl was given the all-clear last year – and has since revealed she kept her cancer diagnosis quiet in part due to concerns about losing work and income.
On Sunday, Cheryl was pictured with her 12-year-old husband Yassine, who is 20 years her junior, as they headed to a Chinese restaurant in Thorton-Cleverleys, Blackpool.
Cheryl and Yassine, 38, looked pleased as they arrived at Great Fortune House Chinese with a celebration cake in hand.
EastEnders actress Cheryl Fergison was pictured with her husband Yassine Al-Jemoni for the first time since revealing her secret battle with cancer in Blackpool on Sunday
Last month the actress, 58, who played Heather Trot in the BBC soap, opened up about being diagnosed with womb cancer in 2015.
Cheryl was dressed for dinner wearing an off-the-shoulder floral print skater dress, a pair of white trainers and a green headscarf.
The soap star, who has son Alex, 24, from her first marriage to Jamshed Saddiqi, revealed her secret stage two uterus cancer battle last month after being diagnosed in 2015.
She kept her health problems private after receiving the terrifying diagnosis nine years ago, but said in April she thought she was going to die, calling it “a terrible time.”
Cheryl revealed earlier this month that Dame Barbara Windsor paid her mortgage after struggling to pay the bills when she was diagnosed with a stage two uterus cancer.
She showed up Loose women where she discussed the moment she was diagnosed and revealed the huge gesture her friend Dame Barbara, the iconic Peggy Mitchell on EastEnders, did to help her before she 2020 passed away.
Cheryl told the panel: 'Barbara Windsor And Paul O'Grady they all helped me.
'I remember Barbs saying, “Come on, you gotta come by my house.” So I went there and to the toilet.
'I explained everything that was going on and I was going to have surgery soon. Her husband Scott pulled out his checkbook.
Cheryl and Yassine, 38, looked pleased as they arrived at Great Fortune House Chinese with a celebration cake in hand
Cheryl was pictured with her husband of 12 years Yassine, who is 20 years her junior, as they headed to a Chinese restaurant in Thorton-Cleverleys, Blackpoo.
Cheryl was dressed for dinner wearing an off-the-shoulder floral print skater dress, a pair of white trainers and a green headscarf
Cheryl revealed the huge gesture her friend Dame Barbara, the iconic Peggy Mitchell on EastEnders, did to help her before she passed away in 2020
“She asked, 'How much are your bills?' She wrote a check to help me pay my medical bills and my mortgage.”
On why she finally decided to go public with her health struggles, she said, “I kept it quiet for a long time to process it. If you don't work, you don't make any money, so I just had to smile and move on.
'For me, it's about letting women know that they need to listen to their bodies.
'We don't have time for ourselves. When something happens, you have to act on it. If I hadn't taken action, I wouldn't have lived anymore.'
Cheryl announced her secret health battle OK! Magazine last month: 'There were some dark moments, especially at night, when I thought, 'Am I going to die? Shall I leave my husband without a wife, my son without a mother?'
'But the time is right to talk about it all now. I hope my story can give strength to other women.
Cheryl said Barbara's husband Scott pulled out the checkbook when she confided in them about her diagnosis and helped her financially (pictured in 2019)
The actress kept her health problems private after receiving the terrifying diagnosis nine years ago, but revealed in April that she thought she was dying, calling it “a terrible time.”
Cheryl also said Paul O'Grady supported her through the tough time. Paul died on March 28, 2023 from a sudden heart rhythm disorder at the age of 67
'I've been through a lot, but I'm still here. What does'nt kill you makes you stronger.'
She received her diagnosis after attending a regular smear test, which came back clear.
But after she started having back pain and seeing blood, she knew this wasn't normal.
She then went to her GP and was referred for tests and a biopsy to a local hospital in Kent.
Four months after that, she received the news that she had stage two uterine cancer.
Cheryl has now opened up about how hearing the doctor's diagnosis was an 'out of body experience'.
She said: 'I was in absolute shock; stunned to the core. I couldn't believe the doctor was talking about me.'
After X-rays, Cheryl was also recommended for a complete hysterectomy several weeks later.
Cheryl shot to fame playing the lovable Heather Trott in EastEnders for five years before she was brutally murdered by Ben Mitchell in 2012 (pictured on soap)
She talked about how this hit her hard in case she had wanted to have another child – after her chances of doing so had already been reduced due to an early pregnancy. menopause.
She had only just married Yassine when the diagnosis came and felt sadness because “any thought of having a child together had been taken away.”
The star shared the devastating news with a few friends in the industry at the time, including Dame Barbara Windsor, June BrownAnd Steve McFadden.
She also confided in entertainment icons Paul O'Grady And Julian Clary.
Last year, Cheryl was given the all clear.
She shared the diagnosis after Cheryl revealed she was rushed to hospital earlier this month left 'in complete agony'.
She released a lengthy statement saying she was being treated for an infection that was causing her a lot of pain, but after six antibiotic drops she was soon “home and on the road to recovery.”