Tracy Shaw, who is best known for her role as Maxine Peacock on Coronation Street, broke down in tears amid her cancer battle as she spoke of her frustrations in hospital18:28, 27 Jun 2026Updated 18:28, 27 Jun 2026Coronation Street star Tracy Shaw broke down in tears during a trip to A&E. The actress, 52, who played Maxine Peacock on the ITV soap from 1995 until 2003, announced earlier this year that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and has now begun gruelling rounds of chemo in a bid to beat the disease.‌The former soap star took to Instagram with another update where she was sitting in a hospital bed and emotionally explained how hard it can be for her to venture into the hospital in the first place when so many who perhaps have "minor" ailments are also there.‌She said: "So I'm in A&E, I had really really high temperatures yesterday and they spiked several times. I didn't want to go to A&E in the hot weather so my body has suffered today. As a consequence, I came in to A&E early this morning and I just want to say thank you to the NHS and everyone in the A&E department. It isn't easy coming in when we have cancer because there are a lot of people with - I'm not disregarding it - minor things, and some have just drank too much.‌"It's really hard at this point when my immune [system] is so low to get through that part of the department without catching anything else."It was at this point that Tracy, Tracy, who also enjoyed a brief pop career with a cover of the Lonnie Gordon track Happenin' All Over Again before going on to appear in Casualty, Doctors and a string of theatre productions over the years, wiped away tears as it the she spoke of the realities of going through cancer treatment.‌She then thanked the staff who managed to find a separate room for her, but also shared her frustration that the aircon wasn't working in the middle of a heatwave and workmen who were around her without wearing a mask.She added: "Anyway, thank you to the NHS and all the staff. They've been amazing, and they have been able to put me in a separate room for now. It's really important to try and protect us."But I just wanted to raise a few things - the aircon isn't working in this hospital, and we've had workmen here outside my door and one guy was trying to do some work and when the nurse asked if she could close the door, he was really rude to her. Really rude to her. And then the nurse had to go away and it was 15 minutes before she got back.‌"He felt like he had a job to do, and he'd put his work bag on the bin which was holding my door open. I've normally got a mask on as well, but no one else has a mask on around me."Then I had three guys come in...the nurse said the aircon wasn't working and they said it was. Three guys just walked in, no masks, nothing. It wasn't working - she was right and in the end they went away and she asked if it was okay if they came back. I said 'With masks on!'"If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Breast Cancer Support.Article continues belowLike this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads