Coronation Street drops cancer bombshell for iconic resident as death fears mount

Coronation Street fans have been left devastated for one long-term resident as a doctor informed her she could have cancer.

Toyah Habeeb was left reeling earlier this week when she keeled over from stomach pain and rushed to the hospital, only to be told she was pregnant. After having an affair with Nick Tilsley, she feared the baby was his – and that it could ruin both their relationships with her sister Leanne.

But on Friday’s episode (July 5), Toyah was given some devastating news – that a tumour had been found on her ovaries, and she wasn’t pregnant after all. The tumour caused a false positive on the test, and her mind immediately went to cancer.

She’d previously been worried about suffering an ectopic pregnancy due to the pain, but a doctor told her they’d need to take biopsies to rule out ovarian cancer instead.

The doctor said: “It’s not the news I’d like to be delivering. I’ve taken a good look at your scans, and we found a growth on one of your ovaries.”

Leanne asked: “It could be benign, right?” and the doctor said: “Some tumours can give a false positive on a pregnancy test, hence the misunderstanding here. We’ve checked your bloods – they show elevated levels of a protein called CA125. Sometimes that can indicate ovarian cancer, but not always.”

Toyah was then informed: “We’re going to move quickly. We’ll do a biopsy and a CT scan to get a clearer idea.”

Leaving Toyah devastated, the doctor went on to warn: “Do yourself a favour, Toyah. Don’t go online. People disappear down rabbit holes, torment themselves for weeks. And then find that the prognosis isn’t as bleak as they’d feared. Trust us to do our job.”

Later in the episode, Leanne skipped out on Toyah’s biopsy to attend an Institute event. Standing in the centre of a circle blindfolded, the other members of the cult shouted insults at her – including that it was no wonder her late son Oliver got sick and slamming her for her previous sex work.

In the end, Leanne broke down in tears and was hugged by the other cult members, before returning home jovial – insisting that the process meant she could better look after Toyah now her mind was clear. Nick wasn’t having any of it, though, and lost it with his wife – admitting to David that he’s “not in love” with her anymore.

But will Toyah find out it is cancer she’s battling? And what could it mean for her future?

Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8pm on ITV.