The Office star Lucy Davis, 53, revealed that she has been diagnosed with “incurable” Stage 4 Breast Cancer.
Davis, who played Dawn Tinsley on the original U.K. version of the series, made the reveal in a post to Instagram on Tuesday.
“I wanted to share something with you all that I’ve kept to myself for a while but for various reasons would like to share now,” she wrote. “A year and a half ago I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer, which has metastasized to my bones. Specifically to my spine, right hip, and my ribs. The cancer is incurable, and too late for chemo.”
The actress, who played the love interest of Martin Freeman’s Tim character for the entirety of the show’s run from 2001 to 2003, added that she nearly missed the first sign of her illness.
“The initial lump that I felt wasn’t a ‘lump’ as such; rather a kind of hard spot. Really tiny. I almost didn’t bother getting it checked. So I guess I’m saying don’t ignore anything—get everything checked out,” she wrote to her 595,000 followers.
Davis starred alongside Freeman, Ricky Gervais,, and Mackenzie Crook in the series before she went on to notable roles in both film and television. She is known for her appearances in Shaun of the Dead (2004) and 2017’s Wonder Woman, as well as her characters in the series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Ugly Betty. Her last major television role was on the Disney Channel’s The Villains of Valley View in 2023, on which she played the supervillain Eva.
Jenna Fischer, who played Dawn’s U.S. counterpart Pam Beesly on the hit NBC sitcom, revealed in 2024 that she was diagnosed with breast cancer, following “inconclusive results” on a 2023 mammogram. She underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, and she is currently cancer-free at 52.
The actress wrote in her post that she wants to “live out whatever might be left of my life in as fun a way as I possibly can,” and has asked her family “to make fun of me as much as possible (which they’re really good at🙄), and most importantly of all to not treat me like a sick person.”
Davis also recounted her experience with the disease so far: “The pain can really be something else. Standing and walking for too long a time can be hard, and I need to use a wheelchair sometimes.”
Still, she wrote that she is in good spirits, despite the news, and looks forward to continuing her animal advocacy work and being reunited with her dog Gracie, who died in 2024.
“I’m not scared of whatever comes next,” Davis explained. “I’m at peace with it. I’ll see my Gracie sooner than expected, and for me, leaving my physical body just means going home. Any and all grieving is for my family; it’s far harder for them than for me.”
