LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Days of Our Lives' actress Kassie DePaiva recently shed light on her health struggles and battle with cancer.
DePaiva, who is best known for her role as Bobby Joe in the horror film 'Evil Dead II', was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in July 2016, shortly after she made her comeback as Eve Donovan on the long-running soap opera.
However, she flew to New York during a scheduling break as she felt like something was wrong, Fox News reports.
Kassie DePaiva opens up about her battle with cancer
"I went to a country jamboree up at Hunter Mountain, and I’m sitting on a chair lift… I feel under my arm, I go, ‘That’s weird.’ I felt two knots. So I thought, ‘Hmmm.’ And they weren’t painful. I know I didn’t feel bad, nothing," she told 'Dishing with Digest' podcast hosts Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky.
The 62-year-old actress, who also appeared in 'General Hospital', continued, "I called and set up an appointment with my doctor and said, ‘Okay, coming back in July. Can you fit me in because I have these little knots? I just want to make sure everything’s okay.’ Well, did a biopsy, and you know the rest is history."
What did Kassie DePaiva's biopsy report show?
Kassie DePaiva discovered that she didn't have breast cancer after receiving her test results but was diagnosed with leukemia instead.
"I did get breast cancer a year later," DePaiva shared. "I laugh and am like, ‘Can you believe it?’ But I had a lumpectomy and everything was clear and so right now, as it stands, I’m cancer-free and happy."
The soap star detailed what it was like to go through chemotherapy after she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.
"I was explaining how chemo is just so awful for your body and how it's not day to day, it's minute to minute," DePaiva said, adding, "You know, you think, 'Okay, I’m gonna be good,' and then you get up and all of a sudden your body eliminates… I mean it was, are you faint or are you gonna throw up?"
She added, "It’s just yucky, and you just think, ‘This is never gonna end,’ and then it does, and then you go, ‘Did I go through with that?’ I cannot believe it, and that’s kind of where I am now with, like, ‘I can’t believe the journey,’ but I’m grateful."
How long was Kassie DePaiva admitted to the hospital after leukemia diagnosis?
Kassie DePaiva shared her leukemia diagnosis on her blog in August 2016 and noted that she had spent six weeks in the hospital and expected to be hospitalized for longer.
"I have amazing prayer warriors, family, and friends that have been extremely supportive," DePaiva wrote on her blog at the time. "Although I'm unable to be 'camera ready' now...my goal is (to) get back to stirring up trouble in Salem soon," she added.
The actress is fortunately now cancer-free and is expected to return to her role as Blair Cramer in new episodes of 'General Hospital'.
