CBS Actress Kim Zimmer Diagnosed With Breast Cancer

The actress' 'Guiding Light' character, Reva Shayne, faced the diagnosis in a 2006 storyline.

By Allison Schonter

Guiding Light star Kim Zimmer has revealed that she's been diagnosed with breast cancer. Zimmer, 69, opened up about her cancer battle during Stand Up to Cancer's special "Daytime Stands Up: A Benefit for Stand Up To Cancer – We All Have a Story" on Thursday, May 16, revealing that she underwent a mastectomy following her diagnosis six months ago.

"I was diagnosed with breast cancer on Nov. 6," Zimmer, who appeared alongside her co-star Tina Sloan, shared, per PEOPLE. The actress went on to share during the livestream that she underwent a mastectomy, joking, "now I have really nice C's instead of droopy D's," according to the Daily Mail. She said her "'last" chemotherapy infusion is scheduled for Tuesday, May 21.

Zimmer is best known for starring as Reva Shayne on the CBS daytime drama The Guiding Light. She starred on the show from 1983 to 1990, returning in 1995 until the show's finale in September 2009. It was during that second stint on the show that Zimmer's onscreen counterpart was diagnosed with breast cancer in a storyline that played out throughout 2006. Reflecting on that storyline, Zimmer said she was grateful for the support system she had, as her Guiding Light character hid her diagnosis from her loved ones.

"I can't imagine getting a diagnosis like that and not wanting the person that you love most in the world to be there standing next to you. The fans reacted to that too...It made for great drama," she said. "'It's so important that you find a support system. Find someone that you can speak honestly and truthfully to [who] will listen to you. I'm a tough broad and I handled this the way anyone would expect me to."

Zimmer said she "would've fallen apart" if it weren't for her support system, including her husband A.C. Weary, who she married in 1981, their three children, and friends. She also thanked her "fabulous doctors."

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In sharing her diagnosis, Zimmer encouraged others to go to the doctors for screenings, saying, "I'm here to say early detection, early detection, early detection, early detection. Get your mammograms, get them soon."

Along with her starring role in The Guiding Light, Zimmer also has well-known roles on One Life to Live (she portrayed both Bonnie Harmon and Echo DiSavoy), Santa Barbara, and The Doctors. Her other credits include MacGyver, One Life to Live, Seinfeld, and most recently, Bleeding Love, per her IMDb profile.

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