'Chicago Med' Star Marlyne Barrett Reveals Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis

Marlyne Barrett, who worked in the medical drama series "Chicago Med," disclosed that she has been diagnosed with uterine and ovarian cancer.

The 44-year-old actress has said she is an "extremely private person" but feels like it is her "responsibility" to share her story. Her "Chicago Med" character, Maggie Lockwood, had breast cancer.

"When my character went through breast cancer, I had a sea of people reach out to me through social media," she told People. "They brought me courage, and so I felt a sense of inevitability to meet their hearts where they met me."

Barrett noted how "human beings are so scared to face the mortality of life, or to even pronounce the word cancer." She added, "But we have so much more strength inside of us than we think."

The actress revealed her cancer journey started following her hernia treatment in April.

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

Barrett said she was shocked when she was diagnosed as her family had no history of uterine or ovarian cancers.

"The initial experience was a shock, a shock to my womanhood," she shared. "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."

The actress noted how she eventually decided to "surrender because it's so much bigger than anything" she had ever faced.

"I found this courage and I just hunkered down and said, 'I'm going to face this,'" she added.

She felt difficult to cope with losing her hair as she always thought it was "an essence of beauty." However, the actress took a razor and shaved her head in front of her babies "so they'd see it was still Mommy."

Barrett shared a photo of her shaved head on social media Tuesday.

Barrett is married to Gavin Barrett and the couple shares 11-month-old twins Joshuah-Jireh and Ahnne-N'Urya. She is a regular on "Chicago Med" since 2015.