Neighbours star Viva Bianca has opened up about her breast cancer diagnosis after discovering she carries the BRCA1 gene. The actress, 41, plays Chelsea Murphy – the sister of established Ramsay Street resident Cara Varga-Murphy (Sara West) – in 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), after he allowed her to stock her perfume range in the Lassiter’s hotel rooms.
Ahead of her on-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.’
