Marlyne Barrett was diagnosed with uterine and ovarian cancer in 2022. She went through 15 rounds of chemo before surgery and 15 rounds after, all while continuing to work as an actor on NBC's Chicago Med, which she called "Life-giving."

"I don't think that people realize mobility means life...So as long as I was able to move, work, laugh at everybody's bad jokes. People were treating me like I was normal, even when my eyebrows were no longer present. It made the time fun, not necessarily having to think about [my health] all the time." She praised the producers of Chicago Med for their support through her treatment saying, "It wasn't just, 'Hey Marlyne, can you work?' The question was, 'How do we support you in this?' Some of the tenderest questions that I've ever been asked by a corporation."

As of July 2024, she is in complete remission.

For more on Barrett's story, click here.