Neighbours star Viva Bianca has opened up about her breast cancer diagnosis after discovering she has the BRCA1 gene.
The actress, 41, plays Chelsea Murphy – the sister of established Ramsay Street resident Cara Varga-Murphy (Sara West) – on the Amazon Prime Video soap.
She first appeared last year, and it wasn’t long before she set her sights on wealthy businessman Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis), when he allowed her to stock her perfume range in the Lassiter’s hotel rooms.
Chelsea then targeted Krista Sinclair (Majella Davis), locking her in a sauna room which resulted in a miscarriage, before planting pills in her office for the former addict to ‘stumble upon’.
In an attempt to cover her actions, she cosied up with software specialist Jeffrey Swan (Tim Potter), who was investigating the sauna door incident, she then became engaged to Paul.
During their celebrations, Krista exposed Chelsea’s actions for all to hear and she was forced to flea Erinsborough. As she backed her belongings, she slipped a pregnancy test into her handbag.
Last month, she made a surprise appearance and was seen at the airport cradling her baby bump. Viva is set to reprise the role again in coming weeks ahead of the soap’s 40th Anniversary.
Ahead of her screen return, she has taken to Instagram to reveal her private health battle.
‘While I consider myself a mostly private person, I decided to tell my breast cancer story in a public way not because I need sympathy or any more support, but because I want to make visible that such a scary thing can happen to anyone – and that breast cancer in particular is increasingly effecting younger women’ she said.
‘I want to participate in the conversation so that a major health issue that affects approx. 1 in 8 women and that is the most common women’s cancer, doesn’t hide in the shadows of our collective awareness.
‘Check your breasts. Regularly. And if you have any family history of breast cancer (even just 1 blood relative, which was the case for me), talk to your GP about genetic testing.’
Viva went on to thank Women’s Weekly and journalist journalist Sue Smethurst for ‘Being so lovely and for capturing the light at the end of the tunnel – and the light in me. I had lived through some awfully ugly days.’
Alongside a photograph of the magazine’s cover, she added: ‘But on this day, I felt pretty.’
In a serious of notes uploaded to the social media site, she continued: ‘Having breast cancer was the hardest chapter of my life. Testing positive for BRCA1 meant that genetically I was at a 70% lifetime risk of breast cancer (a startling reality I had lived oblivious to for 41 years) – and to prevent getting it again I was faced with a much bigger surgery than I had initially prepared for.’
According to the NHS, BRCA1 and BRCA2 are examples of genes that can increase a risk of breast or ovarian cancer in women if they become altered. They also increase a man’s chance of developing male breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Viva added: ‘This relatively brief but very hard time also brought into sharp focus the many angels already in my orbit and introduced me to some new ones.
‘I was flawed by how my family and friends (near and far, old and new) rallied around and showed up for [husband] Tony, the kids and I during that time.
‘I will never forget the care, the messages, the long chats, the check-ins, the
organising on my behalf, the Tupperware dinner drop-offs, the dog walks, the kid pickups, the limitless generosity, the going above and beyond, the discretions, the concessions, the small and big acts of kindness, and the hugs at the end of it all.’
After thanking the medical team at the Parkville precinct for saving her life and committing to her overall care, she said: ‘I kept being congratulated by doctors for discovering my breast lump early – a strange thing to be commended for, yes. But this was a key factor in treating and curing my cancer in a relatively short amount of time.’
Viva also took time to mention her agent Fleur Griffin, plus Neighbours producer Andrew Thomas and executive producer Jason Herbison for ‘handling [her] situation with consummate sensitivity and kindness – and for [their] patience’, and publicist Kerrie Theobold for her ‘discretion and for finding the right publication and team to tell my story to.’
‘And to the cast and crew who knew what I had been through and made sure my return to work was seamless, nurturing and sweet. Thank you!’, she added.
She finished with a message for other people who are ‘in the
trenches of something similar right now.’
‘Hi… I see you’ she said.
‘I know your shock, your fear, your tears, your quiet, your pain, your courage. But I also know that like all things, this is impermanent. There is light beyond this, and there is light in you right now.
‘Although you would never wish for this to happen, I promise, you will emerge stronger, wiser and with a deeper sense of purpose. You will rise as a f*****g phoenix.
‘I am rooting for you. Everything I do is for my babies Vienna and River. They gave and give me no choice but to smile, every single day. To smell the roses.
‘And to live.’
