AceShowbiz - Actress Stephanie Beacham has told of her terror after doctors revealed her skin cancer has returned. The "Dynasty" star had a brush with the disease in 2008 but assumed she was back to full health after a course of cryotherapy to freeze and remove the growth on her nose. But she was plunged into "horror" last month when medics revealed the cancerous cells have returned. The star is currently undergoing photodynamic therapy for basal cell carcinoma in a bid to kill off the illness.

Beacham tells Britain's Hello! magazine, "The news that it had returned gave me such a fright. The first time I was told I had skin cancer, I can still remember the horror I felt, so to be told it had come back was terrifying. I was also terribly disappointed as I thought I was clear and that was the end of it. I now know otherwise and this has served as a warning... I didn't want cryotherapy again and surgery would have involved cutting away a chunk of skin from my nose, leaving me with a permanent scar.

She adds, "The treatment took less than half an hour and didn't involve a scalpel... It was slightly uncomfortable, but not painful. I have one more treatment next month to make sure all the cancerous cells are cleared."

And the British actress admits she's determined to help other sufferers of the disease: "This second scare has proved a very valuable lesson. But skin cancer is nothing to be ashamed of and if my story makes more people aware of the dangers and the treatments available then good has come of this."