Baywatch star Nicole Eggert, 51, reveals she was diagnosed with breast cancer a month ago: 'This journey has been hard for me'

Nicole Eggert revealed she was diagnosed with breast cancer last month in December, admitting that “the journey has been tough for me.”

The Baywatch star, 51 – who made her first public appearance in 18 months in June last year – opened up about her health struggles during an interview with People published on Monday.

The actress stated that after gaining about 25 pounds in October and feeling pain in her left breast, she had a mammogram and three biopsies — which resulted in a diagnosis of stage 2 cribriform carcinoma of breast cancer.

While she initially assumed her symptoms were due to menopause, she contacted the doctor 'immediately' when she felt a lump after a self-examination.

“It really throbbed and hurt,” Nicole explained. 'I went straight to my GP and she said I should have it looked at straight away.'

However, she added: 'The problem was I just couldn't get an appointment. Everything was booked. So I had to wait until the end of November before it was ready.'

Eggert — mother of two daughters — admitted to the outlet, “This journey has been hard for me.”

“This has not been a light-hearted journey through life,” the actress said, adding that she has focused on positivity. “I always read inspiring quotes and corny things, but I get through it.”

Nicole revealed that her next steps include surgery to remove the cancer, as well as undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. The star added that it is currently unclear whether the cancer has spread.

As for the lump, she explained, “I can definitely feel it. It's there. It needs to be taken out. So it's just a matter of do I need to do treatment before the surgery or can they do the surgery and then I do the treatment afterward.”

Eggert was candid about the difficulty of waiting, saying, “I'm panicking where I am, just get this out of me.”

'You sit there and it's in you and you think: every second that passes, it's in me. It grows, and you just want it gone.”

Nicole is mum to daughters Dilyn, 25, and Keegan, 12, and admitted her 'biggest fear' is no longer for her children.

She explained that while Dilyn is “grown,” the actress also “has a 12-year-old at home and I am the sole caregiver. I have no family. I do not have anything.'

The Blown Away actress recalled the moment she told her children about her breast cancer diagnosis, remembering “the horror” on Keegan's face.

'It immediately made me realize: you simply cannot give in to this. This is something I have to go through. This is something I have to beat. She needs me more than anything.”

The star – who is a single mother – told People that things haven't been easy financially.

“My fear is that my daily hustle, everything I do to keep things going, will come to a grinding halt if I'm not feeling well or sick or in the hospital or whatever is going on. '

Nicole continued, “It's so overwhelming, and I'm doing everything I can to keep the spiral from happening.”

“When I lie down at night, I panic because I think, 'Well, who's going to pay all the bills? Who's going to do all this?'”

Eggert's good friend, Mindy Molinary, has one GoFundMe for Nicole to help the star with finances as her health battle begins.

The actress shared a link to the page on her social media accounts including Instagram.

In the caption next to a photo of her with her two daughters, she wrote, “Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult.”

“If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can endure hardship today. – Thich Nhat Hnah. Link in bio- Please read and share.'

She was also grateful for her friend's help while speaking to the publication, revealing that she has plans to start a nonprofit after her recovery.

'I absolutely 100% want to start a non-profit organization for other single parents like me, who have no family, no one to turn to.'

“They take all this on themselves because they love their children so much, but if something happens to them, what then?” Nicole added.

Real Housewives alum Bethenny Frankel shared a screenshot of the GoFundMe page to her Instagram Stories and wrote, “As a mom, this breaks my heart…”

'I donated to this cause. As someone without parental support, it was scary to be there alone. Being responsible for girls and being afraid of not having a roof over their heads, let alone not being there for them, is terrifying.”

'Then it's all terrible not to have any earning capacity. Spread the word. Make a small donation,” she informed her followers, adding that people close to her also matched her donation.

'The name of this game is 'pay it forward'. I don't even know her, but right now my heart breaks for her and those little girls…Xoxo.”

After dealing with financial problems in the past, such as filing for bankruptcy for the third time in 2013, the star notably started a new venture in 2014 by becoming a driver for her own ice cream truck.

Nicole most notably played the role of Roberta “Summer” Quinn on the hit series Baywatch for its third and fourth seasons.

She also starred in Charles In Charge from 1987 to 1990, playing the character of Jamie Powell.