Nicole Eggert needed time for cancer treatment, but taking time off work wasn’t something she could easily afford.
The Baywatch actress, who was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in December 2023, recently spoke about the stress of paying for care while raising her teenage daughter as a single mom. In an interview with Fox News Digital, she explained that taking an acting job wasn’t an option when she needed to be available for treatment — and she still had all the usual bills to pay.
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“And yet the bills don’t stop. And the teenagers still need their things. And life needs their things. And the car still needs the gas. And, you know, all of it,” she said.
‘It Just Adds Up’
Eggert described herself as a “100% single parent.” While her older daughter, Dilyn, is an independent adult, her younger daughter, Keegan, still lives at home.
“As I was going along, I was like, ‘Oh, you’re kidding.’ Like, it just adds up and it adds up,” she said, according to People.
With treatment taking up at least three to five days of her week, there wasn’t much room to commit to a production. “It’s not like it’s work from home kind of work,” she explained. She had to accept that she wouldn’t have income coming in while she was getting care.
“So, that’s like an entirely other added stress that I think a lot of people, that’s like last on the list, right? But it’s huge,” she said of the financial pressure.
Asking for Help Isn’t Always Easy
The financial strain Eggert described is known as financial toxicity. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), even people with health insurance can struggle with the cost of cancer care, particularly when treatment means cutting back on work. Copayments, deductibles, and prescription costs can add up while there’s less money coming in to cover them.
The NCI also notes that people diagnosed at a younger age may have less savings and additional financial responsibilities, such as raising children. And the expenses don’t necessarily end when treatment does: ongoing treatment and care for lasting side effects can leave patients with medical costs for years after diagnosis.
Eggert said she learned to let people help instead of trying to manage everything herself. Building a support system meant being willing to tell others when she couldn’t keep up.
“You have to be able to say hey, I’m underwater here,” she said. “I don’t know how I’m gonna do this.”
