Actress Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe, who plays Rita in the Hallmark Channel series “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” is opening up about her cancer battle.
Lowe, 44, revealed her stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis in an essay published by People on Friday, Oct. 10.
“In February of 2025, while getting ready one morning, I noticed a large mass in my right breast. In that moment, everything else fell away,” Lowe wrote, noting that her doctor found nothing after her first ultrasound. A couple months later, the mass had grown to 10 centimeters.
“This time, my doctor wasn’t so casual; I was rushed for a blind biopsy. After what felt like an eternity, the doctor gently placed his hand on my arm and said, ‘Honey, I can’t be sure, but this feels like cancer,’” she recalled.
In August 2025, Lowe was diagnosed with stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma.
“Essentially, I’m looking at the whole deal: chemo, double mastectomy, radiation and, eventually, implants. As someone who’s never had any major illness, it was a lot to digest,” the actress wrote.
When Lowe began her first round of chemotherapy, “the fear was indescribable.” So, she decided to visualize the red vial of Doxorubicin as a “fiery redhead” Scottish warrior.
“I named her the most Scottish name I could think of, Agnes McDonald. Agnes would be my fierce warrior who would battle ‘Barry,’ the nickname I’d given to my cancer,” Lowe wrote.
In addition to her work as an actress, Lowe is a director. She recently directed the Hallmark Channel film “Pie To Die For: A Hannah Swensen Mystery,” which premiered in June. After receiving her cancer diagnosis, she was “terrified” to tell Hallmark Chief Communications Officer Annie Howell.
“What if I never work again? What if they forget me? But nothing could be further from the truth,” Lowe shared. “Annie and the entire Hallmark family embraced me fully, and told me that they had my back. …. Let’s just say I have never been more grateful to be a part of a family that practices the values they preach. I am eternally grateful.”
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Lowe closed the essay by noting that her ongoing cancer journey has been “scary, strange, and humbling” and “stripped me down in ways I never saw coming, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.” However, she “promise[s] to persevere” and “turn poison into medicine.”
Lowe shares a 9-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son with her husband, Miko Tomasevich.
“Signed, Sealed, Delivered” is available to stream on Hallmark+.
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