Hayley Mills: 'My son shaved my head when I had cancer'

Hayley Mills has revealed that her son Jason shaved her head when she started losing her hair following chemotherapy.

The actress was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and was told two years ago following treatment that there were no signs of the disease in her body.

Mills told Good Housekeeping of dealing with the side-effects of chemotherapy: "I got to the point when I thought, 'To hell with this', so [my son Jason] shaved my head!

"I had a marvellous wig, which helped, and at night I wore a pink woolly bobble hat because my head got cold."

Of being diagnosed with the disease, Mills said: "It was my birthday when I received the news I had breast cancer - what a birthday present!

"For me it helped to keep the news to myself, that's the sort of person I am. I know people who needed to tell all their friends, but for me it was a private thing and it helped me to get on with life as normally as possible."

She added: "What I think is vitally important is that when you're given such a devastating prognosis, you feel you can take charge of your life.

"And going through that has made me appreciate everything more - family, grandchildren, the love and opportunities I have. Once cancer happens it changes the way you live for the rest of your life."

The full interview with Mills features in the February issue of Good Housekeeping, which is available from January 5.

In May last year, Mills's ITV drama Wild At Heart was given a seventh series. Production began in August and the show will air in 2012.

Mills was a former child star who rose to fame in the movies Tiger Bay in 1959 and Pollyanna the following year.

Watch Hayley Mills on Loose Women last January below: