Australian soap star Alea O’Shea is undergoing treatment for brain cancer.
A GoFundMe page launched on Thursday for the 25-year-old “Home and Away” alum revealed that she recently underwent surgery for her diagnosis, which she publicly disclosed in November.
“Over the past months, Alea has been bravely facing brain cancer and the many treatments that come with it,” the fundraiser’s description read.
The page, which O’Shea’s friends started with her permission “after months of persuasion,” said her cancer journey “has been incredibly challenging” for the actress and her family.
“Like many families navigating serious illness, they have discovered that a number of essential cancer treatments, therapy and procedures are not covered by private health insurance, creating a significant and ongoing financial burden.”
The description stated that O’Shea has been helping other women facing cancer by starting her own fundraiser “to allow other young women without the funds to purchase high-quality wigs and feel good about themselves.”
“Her generosity of spirit in the midst of such a difficult time has moved so many of us,” O’Shea’s friends shared.
The page asked people to donate to “help ease the financial pressure of medical treatments and related expenses” in O’Shea’s cancer battle.
The GoFundMe has raised over $82,700 from more than 600 donors as of Monday morning.
O’Shea, who starred as Darcy Callahan on “Home and Away” from 2011 to 2014 and again from 2016 to 2017, revealed her cancer diagnosis in a social media video on Nov. 28.
“This is a video I obviously thought I’d never have to make, but I’ve recently been diagnosed with brain cancer,” she told her Instagram followers.
“Saying that like, a hook, is insane. It’s been a crazy few weeks,” she added.
O’Shea revealed that her initial symptoms included an uneven smile, difficulty talking and a few migraines.
But after she lost feeling in two of her fingers and then her wrist and toe, she went to the doctor and got a brain scan on her birthday, which is how she learned of her diagnosis.
O’Shea shared that her doctors warned her about some complications during treatment, including losing her hair and paralysis on the left side of her body.
“So in the coming months, I might be doing videos one handed. I might disappear when I need to,” she said.
“But mostly, I’m going to be showing up as me every single day that I can.”
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