“Baywatch” star Nicole Eggert reveals breast cancer diagnosis: 'It's just so overwhelming'

The 51-year-old actress was diagnosed with stage 2 cribriform carcinoma breast cancer in December.

Nicole Eggert has come forward to reveal that she is battling breast cancer.

The actress, known for her work on TV series like Who's the Boss? and Baywatch in the '80s and '90s, told PEOPLE in a new interview that she was diagnosed with stage 2 cribriform carcinoma breast cancer in early December. "This journey's been rough for me," she said. "I always read inspirational quotes and corny stuff, but it gets me through."

Eggert, 51, explained that she's constantly aware of the painful lump on her left breast, which she identified during a self-examination. "I can definitely feel it," she said. "It's there. It needs to be taken out. So it's just a matter of do I have to do treatment before the surgery or can they perform the surgery and then I do the treatment after." Eggert is now waiting for her oncologist to schedule her treatment.

Though she identified the cancer quickly, it took Eggert considerable time to have her self-diagnosis officially confirmed. "I immediately went to my general practitioner and she told me I had to immediately go get it looked at," she said. "But the problem was I just couldn't get an appointment. Everything was booked. So I had to wait until the end of November to get it done."

As a single mother of two, Eggert said that she's struggling with the logistics of her treatment. "My fear is that my everyday hustle, everything that I do to keep everything going is going to come to a screeching halt when I'm not feeling well or I'm sick or I'm in the hospital or whatever is going on," she explained. "It's just so overwhelming, and I'm just doing everything I can not to spiral. At night when I lay down, I panic because I'm like, well, who's going to cover all the bills? Who's going to do all of this?"

Eggert’s friend Mindy Molinary started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for her medical bills. "I absolutely 100% want to start a non-profit for other single parents such as myself, who don't have any family, don't have anybody to turn to," Eggert said. "They take on all this by themselves because they love their kids so much, but when something happens to them, then what?"

Through it all, Eggert remains grateful for her support system. "I've gotten such an outpouring of love and it makes you feel so good. It changes your whole day and other people just don't have that," she said. "So I really want to figure out a way to give back to other parents that are in my situation that aren't as fortunate."

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content

• Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson roasts his own Baywatch movie during WWE return

• Nicole Eggert breaks silence on molestation claims against Scott Baio

• Zac Efron says Baywatch training caused him to suffer from insomnia and 'pretty bad depression'
  

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.