The Office star Lucy Davis has thanked fans for their support after being left ‘utterly overwhelmed’ by the response to her heartbreaking cancer diagnosis.
The 53-year-old actor revealed earlier this week that she has incurable breast cancer which has spread to her bones, telling fans she does not know ‘how long’ she has left.
Now, Davis has returned to social media with an update and proved that even in unimaginably difficult circumstances, she hasn’t lost her sense of humour.
The actor admitted she had been stunned by the sheer number of messages she received after sharing her diagnosis, which prompted an outpouring of support from fans, friends, family, and former colleagues.
‘Ok, so the last two days have been utterly overwhelming, in that I had zero idea my cancer post would have the attention it did,’ she wrote on Instagram.
‘Truly, I am in shock. That said, thank you to everyone for the tremendous amount of kindness and support you have sent me. Good grief it was emotional.
‘I am trying to go through all the comments on my post – and I’ll get there, just give me a bit of time.’
However, amid the thousands of well-wishes were apparently a couple of slightly premature condolences. Davis joked: ‘Also, to the couple of people who slightly misread the news and commented RIP, you’ll be delighted to know I am still alive – hurrah.’
And she appeared determined to inject some lightness into the devastating situation, accompanying her message with a video of herself attempting a skateboarding lesson.
The lesson came courtesy of actor Malachi Barton, who starred alongside Davis in Disney Channel comedy The Villains of Valley View, with Davis joking that she has ‘no sporting ability whatsoever’.
She explained that she wanted to post the clip to ‘lighten things up’ following the emotional response to her diagnosis.
Davis revealed on Tuesday that she was first diagnosed with breast cancer around a year and a half ago.
By the time it was discovered, she said the disease had metastasised to her bones, including her spine, right hip and ribs, and it was ‘too late’ for chemotherapy.
In an extraordinarily candid post about facing an uncertain future, the actor said she was now concentrating on making the most of the time she has.
‘As of now, I’m trying to live out whatever might be left of my life in as fun a way as I possibly can,’ she wrote.
