Marlyne Barrett, who plays nurse Maggie Lockwood on the NBC drama “Chicago Med,” revealed she has cancer and is facing her third round of chemotherapy, People reported Tuesday.
The 44-year-old star said she’s determined to keep working and has had her costumes specially fitted to accommodate the mass in her abdomen.
“Work brings me a lot of joy right now,” Barrett told People. “It brings me a lot of reprieve to think about something other than, ‘When is my next chemo shift?’ and ‘How am I going to hug my children?’”
Doctors in July found a football-sized tumor on Barrett’s uterus and left ovary. She underwent “aggressive” chemotherapy and a hysterectomy, the magazine noted.
The former “Wire” semi-regular, who’s married to the Rev. Gavin Barrett, said she preemptively shaved her head in front of her 11-month-old twins to strip the chemo of its negative power. (She posted an uncaptioned photo of herself without hair on Tuesday, along with a picture of the People article on Instagram.)
Stephane Cardinale – Corbis via Getty Images
Barrett has continued to work, telling People she starts an hour earlier, naps and takes days off when necessary.
Barrett, whose “Chicago Med” character faced breast cancer in the 2019 season, said her real-life illness has proved overwhelming at times.
“I have a wave of emotion that comes,” she said. “But it’s OK not to have it all together. You can’t tangibly hold onto fear. But I’m holding onto faith.”
HuffPost has reached out to “Chicago Med” and Barrett through the network’s publicity department for further comment.