Memorandum
- From
- Delaney Sawyer via fox - Entertainment
- Date
- Filed
- Society·3 min to read
- Re
Nicole Eggert says cancer treatment left her without income while bills kept coming
ReNicole Eggert says cancer treatment left her without income while bills kept coming
The former Baywatch actress says her breast cancer battle brought financial strain as a single parent who could not work during treatment.
Former «Baywatch» actress Nicole Eggert says the financial cost of fighting cancer is a conversation that often goes unspoken. Eggert, 54, was diagnosed with stage 2 cribriform carcinoma breast cancer in December 2023, and she told Fox News Digital that the money pressures of her treatment added a second, separate burden to an already difficult period.
Eggert said she is now a single parent with sole responsibility for her household. One of her daughters is an adult and largely independent, but she still has a teenager at home. Alongside the household and what she described as head-of-household duties, she pointed to the expenses that came with the diagnosis, which she said were considerable and hard to fully grasp.
Her work as an actress made the situation harder. Eggert said she could not commit to any production because treatment required her to be in and out of care at least three to five days a week, and that the work is not something she could do from home. She said she came to accept that she would have no income while the bills, the needs of her teenager and the everyday costs of life continued.
Eggert said that when she stepped back and looked at the disease itself, money began to seem trivial. She described a shift in perspective in which being alive became the priority, though she acknowledged that financial strain still weighed on her. She said that money pressures come and go as part of the ebb and flow of life.
Her diagnosis followed unexplained weight gain and pain in her left breast. She underwent a first mastectomy soon after the diagnosis. She said she had wanted a double mastectomy at the time, but her doctor advised that removing only one breast would allow her to start treatment faster and spare her immune system a larger hit, and she agreed. In August 2025, more than a year later, she had her other breast removed, and surgeons performed a reconstruction.
Eggert said that relying on a community has been central to her journey. She said patients need to be willing to ask for help and to seek out others' experiences, tips and information. She made the remarks as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when she partnered with Novartis and spoke about her experience on the Voices of MORE podcast with Amy Robach and Dr. Helen Coons.
Eggert said that women sharing their stories helps reduce the sense that breast cancer is a taboo subject. She said more women are becoming comfortable discussing what their journey looks like and how it has felt for them. She also said she is looking forward to returning to daily life without treatment, describing a new appreciation for life and what she called a second chance.
5
