16:54 13 May 2014
Royle Family star Caroline Aherne has been confirmed to have lung cancer. She previously had bladder and eye cancer.
The 50-year-old BAFTA winning writer and comic actress, who also starred in The Mrs Merton Show and The Fast Show, will speak at an appeal to improve cancer care in Manchester on June 26 as confirmed by Macmillan Cancer Support.
Nicola Cook, from Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "Caroline's one of Manchester's own - she's loved here and people identify with her. We hope that if people see that Caroline is sitting down and talking to us then maybe they'll know that they can too."
Aherne said: "They've asked me to get involved and I'm really glad that I can do my bit to encourage Manchester people to speak up about where things do go wrong with cancer care."
She added: "Our survival rates are 25% lower than average and the number of people getting lung cancer is a third higher here than in the rest of England.”
Meanwhile, her brother confirmed that he was diagnosed with lung cancer last year.