"I'm not looking for sympathy” - Sixth Sense star Olivia Williams reveals she’ll never be cancer free following misdiagnosis

British actress Olivia Williams, who has a rare tumor that went undiscovered for years, has disclosed that she will never be cancer-free. The actress who starred in The Sixth Sense and The Crown has talked about the fight with VIPoma, a rare type of pancreatic cancer, exposing the delayed diagnostic process, the excruciating treatments, and her support of early detection and education.

Frustrated about this, she said,

"I'm not looking for sympathy — I'm looking for a cheap, early test."

Over ten years have passed since Olivia Williams' symptoms initially manifested. But before she was given a proper diagnosis, it took over four years, 10 doctors, and consultations in three different countries. She was frequently misdiagnosed with ailments ranging from perimenopause and lupus to irritable bowel syndrome during that time. Olivia Williams was referred for a psychiatric evaluation after a doctor even implied that her problems could be psychological.

In an interview, she said to The Times,

“If someone had f------ well diagnosed me in the four years I’d been saying I was ill, when they told me I was menopausal or had irritable bowel syndrome or [was] crazy — I used that word advisedly because one doctor referred me for a psychiatric assessment — then one operation possibly could have cleared the whole thing and I could describe myself as cancer-free, which I cannot now ever be.”

Olivia Williams also revealed that she went to about 21 doctors before the VIPoma, a tumor on her pancreas that secretes vasoactive intestinal peptide, was eventually found by a LA gastroenterologist using a specific hormone test. She added.

"I go in like a puppy with this optimistic, bright face and then they give me bad news and it's like, 'Oh my God, I fell for it again. They've found new metastases pretty well either just before Christmas or in the middle of a summer holiday. Then, for three years in a row, they started appearing too close to major blood vessels to zap. So there was a period when we were just sitting and watching them grow, which is a horrible feeling."

Olivia Williams' life with cancer

Olivia Williams has undergone rounds of Lutahera, targeted radiotherapy treatment that involves injecting radioactive material to target cancer cells; she must live in isolation for two weeks after the procedure to prevent radiation exposure to others. Since the diagnosis, she has had multiple surgeries to remove the tumor as well as portions of her liver, gallbladder, spleen, and pancreas, but new metastases have continued to develop. Olivia Williams revealed,

"I go to a room in King's College hospital and people in hazmat suits come in with a lead box of a radioactive material, which they inject into me and I become radioactive. It's supposed to buy me maybe a year, maybe two or three years, of freedom from treatment. In the best-case scenario it would have made [the metastases] disappear, but that didn't happen."

Olivia Williams said that some metastases are too near important blood arteries to be safely removed or zapped, and that new tumors frequently appear at emotionally charged occasions like Christmas or summer vacations.

Its uncertainty has had a psychological impact. It tends to show up during occasions like summer or Christmas holidays and affects one emotionally. She told People Magazine,

“I go in like a puppy with this optimistic, bright face and then they give me bad news, “And it’s like, oh my God, I fell for it again. They’ve found new metastases pretty well either just before Christmas or in the middle of a summer holiday. Then, for three years in a row, they started appearing too close to major blood vessels to zap. So there was a period when we were just sitting and watching them grow, which is a horrible feeling.”

Olivia Williams has kept herself prepared for the worst-case situation, even though she is still making appearances in movies. Drawing lessons from the unexpected death of her close friend's spouse, she has talked about making financial and family plans in the case of her passing. Drawing lessons from the unexpected death of her close friend's spouse.

She said,

“You have to stand in the sweaty room and look at yourself in a mirror for an hour and a half. Obviously, I see all those signs of aging and bad living and think how much better I could look if I didn’t eat so many chips and drink so much wine. But I also look in awe at my body — I think, what you have been through and you can still put your foot over your head. You can still walk and run and eat. It’s a miracle.”

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