Chicago Med 's Marlyne Barrett Shares Uterine, Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis

Marlyne Barrett is opening up about her cancer journey.

The actress, who plays cancer survivor Maggie Lockwood on Chicago Med, recently shared that she has been receiving treatment after doctors found a tumor on her uterus and left ovary this past July.

"I'm an extremely private person, but I felt a responsibility to tell my story," Barrett, 44, told People in a Sept. 27 interview. "When my character went through breast cancer, I had a sea of people reach out to me through social media."

The actress noted that the support she felt when her character underwent treatment for breast cancer in season five of the medical drama is what encouraged her to share her diagnosis.

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

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The Wire alum said she received her diagnosis two months ago when, following a hernia repair in April, she began experiencing unusual symptoms.

"I had this accumulation of fluid [in my abdomen] that I couldn't shake," Barrett recalled. "I looked like I was nine months pregnant. And I also had shortness of breath, but no pain, which was interesting."

She added, "The initial experience was a shock, a shock to my womanhood. I didn't believe them, but when they showed me the CT scan, I went, 'Oh my word.' The first questions were, 'Am I going to live?' I just fell into my husband's arms. It still takes my breath away when I think about it."

However, she's made it clear that she has no desire to run from her cancer "because it's my life."

The Damages actress—who shares 11-month-old twins Joshuah-Jireh and Ahnne-N'Urya with husband Gavin Barrett—shared that it is her children who give her strength to continue fighting her cancer.

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

She is currently on her third round of chemotherapy at City of Hope in Los Angeles, and is taking her cancer battle "one day at a time."

"I have a wave of emotion that comes," she admitted. "But it's okay not to have it all together. You can't tangibly hold onto fear. But I'm holding onto faith."

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