Marlyne Barrett, Chicago Med Star, Reveals Uterine and Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis

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Chicago Med actress Marlyne Barrett is discussing being diagnosed with uterine and ovarian cancer.

The star revealed to People that doctors discovered a tumor on her uterus and left ovary back in July.

Barrett shared that she is undergoing aggressive chemotherapy.

Actress Marlyne Barrett attends a premiere party for NBC's 'Chicago Fire', 'Chicago P.D.' and 'Chicago Med'

“Work brings me a lot of joy right now,” Barrett explained to People, revealing she continued to work on the NBC series.

“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?'”

Maggie's Family Drama - Chicago Med Season 8 Episode 1

Barrett, who plays Maggie, revealed that her character's courage in dealing with breast cancer in 2019 is what urged her to speak out.

“I’m an extremely private person, but I felt a responsibility to tell my story," she said in the interview.

"When my character went through breast cancer, I had a sea of people reach out to me through social media."

"They brought me courage, and so I felt a sense of inevitability to meet their hearts where they met me."

High School Reunion - Chicago Med Season 7 Episode 20

"“We as human beings are so scared to face the mortality of life, or to even pronounce the word cancer,” the 44-year-old adds.

“But we have so much more strength inside of us than we think.”

Barrett shared that she decided to shave her head in front of her children, twins Joshuah-Jireh and Ahnne-N’Urya. 

"I didn’t want to give the power to chemo," she recalled. 

Maggie Takes Care of Will - Chicago Med - Chicago Med Season 8 Episode 1

"My hair has always been an essence of beauty. But I took my own razor and I shaved my head."

"I did it in front of my babies so they’d see it was still Mommy. I wept, I wept, I wept. But it was a beautiful experience to do it in front of them."

Marlyne has been a part of the Chicago Med cast since 2015.

She is currently preparing for her third round of chemotherapy.

Maggie and Will / Tall - Chicago Med Season 7 Episode 14

"It’s okay not to have it all together. You can’t tangibly hold onto fear. But I’m holding onto faith," she shared in the interview with People.

"I find new strength to carry on every day because of [my children]. I want to see them get married one day. And I will."

Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m.

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.

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