Health
Actress ignored subtle cancer symptom for years before onstage emergency
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Alex Kingston, known for her roles on hit shows like “ER” and “Doctor Who,” revealed her battle with uterine cancer in a recent interview.
In the first sign that something was wrong, the actress began hemorrhaging onstage in 2024, then ultimately carried on with the show. It wasn’t until six weeks later that doctors diagnosed her with cancer.
“Your body does try to warn you,” the star, 62, told The Independent. “It just depends on whether you can read the warning signs.”
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“I had assumed that the way I was feeling was old age, and I just sort of accepted it,” Kingston went on, noting that she had experienced bloating and achiness for years.
Kingston brushed off the telltale signs of uterine cancer as typical aging, a mistake experts say can cost women their lives.
Alex Kingston, known for her roles on hit shows like “ER” and “Doctor Who,” revealed her battle with uterine cancer in a recent interview. (Barry Brecheisen/Getty Images)
Uterine cancer, sometimes referred to as “womb cancer,” is a general term describing cancer that forms in the uterus. It most often develops after menopause, according to Cleveland Clinic.
There are two forms: endometrial cancer and uterine sarcoma. Endometrial is one of the most common reproductive cancers, while uterine sarcoma develops in the muscle wall of your uterus. Uterine sarcomas are very rare, the above source stated.
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About 3% of women will receive a diagnosis of uterine cancer at some point during their lives. Each year, about 65,000 women are diagnosed.
Symptoms to watch for
Symptoms of uterine cancer can resemble other conditions, which could be why it can go undetected or even ignored, as in Kingston’s case.
About 65,000 women receive a uterine cancer diagnosis annually, with 3% of women affected during their lifetime. (iStock)
Symptoms can include the following, according to Cleveland Clinic.
- Vaginal bleeding between periods before menopause
- Vaginal bleeding or spotting after menopause
- Lower abdominal pain or cramping just below your stomach
- Thin white or clear vaginal discharge for postmenopausal women
- Prolonged, heavy or frequent vaginal bleeding after 40
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Risk factors
Researchers aren’t sure of the exact cause of uterine cancer. The condition occurs when cells in the uterus mutate and multiply uncontrollably, which can form a mass called a tumor, Cleveland Clinic states.
Many uterine cancer risk factors are associated with hormonal imbalances — such as obesity and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), both of which can increase estrogen exposure.
Other factors include age (most cases occur after age 50), diet (a high-fat diet can increase cancer risk), and family history of the disease. People who haven’t been pregnant also have a higher risk, experts say.
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There are a range of treatment approaches for uterine cancer. In Kingston’s case, she underwent radiation therapy and a hysterectomy. Chemotherapy, hormone therapy and immunotherapy may also come into play during treatment.
Kingston ignored bloating and achiness for years before a diagnosis forced her life-saving surgery, she shared. (Alecsandra Raluca Dragoi/BAFTA via Getty Images)
During a hysterectomy, surgeons often perform procedures to remove ovaries and fallopian tubes. Most people need this extra step to make sure all cancer gets removed, per Cleveland Clinic.
Doctors may also perform a procedure to remove lymph nodes and determine whether cancer has spread.
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Early intervention
While uterine cancer can be fatal, an early diagnosis means potentially faster treatment and better outcomes.
Those experiencing any symptoms should speak with a healthcare provider and undergo a pelvic exam, experts recommend.
Uterine cancer symptoms include irregular bleeding and pelvic pain, but early diagnosis through medical evaluation can lead to better treatment outcomes. (iStock)
A provider may also use a combination of blood tests and imaging scans to confirm a diagnosis.
“Uterine cancer is really tricky because it is so sneaky,” Kingston told The Independent.
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“What I would say is, the body does know — and that was the body saying to me, ‘Help! There’s something really wrong.’ It’s so important to seek advice and have a check-up.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Kingston’s representative for comment.
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A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.
The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.
More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.
The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)
Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.
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Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”
“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)
Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”
The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.
The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”
Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.
Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)
Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.
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Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”
The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.
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“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.
“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”
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Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.
For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.
The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)
Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.
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“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.
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“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”
High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)
The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.
In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.
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In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.
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The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.
Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)
“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.
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“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
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