Lucy Davis , known for playing Dawn Tinsley on the original U.K. version of The Office , revealed on Instagram Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, that she has terminal Stage 4 breast cancer. Davis said she received the diagnosis about a year and a half ago after finding a lump, and that the disease had spread to her spine, right hip and ribs. Davis described the cancer as incurable and said chemotherapy was no longer an option. Rather than allowing the diagnosis to define every remaining chapter, Davis wrote that she is focused on making life as joyful and fun as possible while continuing to find meaning in an experience she never asked for. Dawn Tinsley’s Real Life Chapter Humor has become Davis’s emotional survival tool. Davis said she encouraged friends and family to joke with her instead of treating her like a fragile patient, arguing that being constantly handled as “sick” can make someone feel even worse. “I’m at peace with it,” Davis wrote. Davis also said she still wants to act and feels able to work, calling performance one of the greatest joys in her life. Before appearing in Wonder Woman in 2017, Davis became a fan favorite in The Office U.K. and Shaun of the Dead ; Dawn’s slow-burn romance with Martin Freeman’s Tim eventually paid off in the show’s Christmas finale and later influenced Jenna Fischer’s Pam Beesly in the American adaptation.