‘Every Step Of This Process Is...’: Baywatch Star Nicole Eggert Breaks Down Over ‘Cancer Tattoos’

Nicole Eggert, known for her role as Summer Quinn on Baywatch, shared an emotional moment with her followers as she opened up about physical and emotional challenges of breast cancer treatment.

By Sakina Kaukawala

Published on Dec 02, 2024 | 04:10 PM IST | 5.9K

Nicole Eggert (via Instagram/Nicole Eggert)

Nicole Eggert, best known for her role as Summer Quinn on Baywatch, shared an emotional moment with her followers on Instagram on November 20, revealing her struggles with the physical and emotional toll of breast cancer treatment.

The actress opened up about her experience with radiation treatment, including the unexpected tattoos she received as part of the process. Eggert's candid video showed her in tears as she spoke about how these small marks serve as a constant reminder of her ongoing battle with the disease.

Nicole Eggert recorded herself in her car after a CT scan appointment for radiation mapping. The actress explained that she did not realize the tattoos she would receive were permanent.

"OK, so I just got out of my CT scan, mapping, as they call it, for my radiation treatment, and when they said they were gonna tattoo me, I didn’t realize it was actual, real tattoos, so I was tatted!” Eggert said, breaking down in tears as she revealed the emotional weight of the process.

While the tattoos were small, just dots, Eggert admitted that every step of her treatment serves as a constant reminder of her cancer diagnosis. “It’s minor, it’s nothing but dots, but boy, every step of this process is never gonna let you forget it, there’s just always going to be a constant reminder,” she shared, her voice shaking.

Despite the emotional weight, Eggert managed to lighten the moment with a touch of humor, joking about the neck tattoo she now has. “So yeah, I have tattoos. My mom’s gonna be really proud of my neck tattoo, but that’s OK, that’s OK,” she said with a small laugh.

Eggert’s health journey has been difficult, particularly as she faces the daunting task of undergoing radiation. She shared more about the process in a previous video, sharing how radiation mapping is essential for targeting the cancer while minimizing damage to vital organs.

She said they’re going to do CT scans, and they call it imaging and tattooing of her organs; it’s so that when they shoot the radiation into her, they can hopefully miss most of the vital organs. She added that they’ll hit some of them they’ve said to a degree, but hopefully not to a harmful degree.

However, the fear of radiation's long-term effects has weighed heavily on Eggert. Her father had undergone radiation treatment for brain tumors, and the results were devastating.

Eggert shared that what she is struggling with is she knows the damage that radiation does, her father had it on his brain, he had tumors in his brain, and after the first treatment, he was not the same person anymore, growing emotional as she recalled her father's experience.

Nicole Eggert’s breast cancer journey began in December 2023 when she was diagnosed with stage 2 cribriform carcinoma. Since then, she has bravely shared her experiences with her fans, including her most recent update in August.

Speaking at the premiere of the After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun docuseries, Eggert confirmed that she had finished her initial treatment and was awaiting further imaging and possible surgery.

Throughout her battle with cancer, Eggert has found comfort and support from her Baywatch family. At the premiere of the ABC News Studios docuseries, which Eggert produced about the iconic beach series, she was joined by several of her former co-stars. Carmen Electra, Alexandra Paul, Jeremy Jackson, and many others showed up to support the project, which aired in late August.

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