What Hallmark's Crystal Lowe Has Said About Her Cancer Diagnosis

Hallmark star Crystal Lowe (who is sometimes known as Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe) shared her diagnosis of Stage 3 breast cancer with the world on Instagram and in an essay for People in October 2025. Lowe is an actor, director, and producer who has appeared in Hallmark's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" franchise and beloved Hallmark Christmas movies like "Christmas at Dollywood." Aside from all her professional accomplishments, Lowe has joined a line of strong women in Hollywood who have shared their experiences with breast cancer.

In her announcement on Instagram in October, Lowe encouraged women to get mammograms and shared that she was in the middle of receiving chemotherapy treatments. "I have no family history. There [were] no signs. I just knew when I found a lump that there was something that I needed to do about it," she said, inviting people to follow along as she navigated treating the disease. In her People essay, Lowe recalled noticing a lump in her breast in February 2025 and being dismissed by doctors when her mammogram was clear. The mass never went away and was changing size and location. Eventually, she got a biopsy, and in August 2025 was told her cancer was Stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma. "Essentially, I'm looking at the whole deal: chemo, double mastectomy, radiation and, eventually, implants," she wrote.

Crystal Lowe had never had a major illness before her cancer diagnosis, so she was understandably scared of what lay ahead. In People, she wrote of her young son making her laugh soon after her diagnosis, while she was trying to cope with her new reality. She also wrote of supportive colleagues changing schedules around so she could direct remotely, friends organizing a meal train for her, and coming up with a nickname for the Doxorubicin that would work to shrink the cancer. Lowe came up with "Agnes McDonald," explaining, "I decided to look at my chemo as a warrior. I named her the most Scottish name I could think of."

But for all of the love and support Lowe has been feeling since her diagnosis, she didn't sugarcoat the realities of having cancer. In late October, she posted an Instagram reel showing her followers that her hair was falling out and documenting the process of shaving it off. "Waking up to clumps of hair falling out was traumatic. Hiding it was the worst! But doing this ... this made me feel like I was in the [driver's seat]," she wrote in the caption. In November, she posted an Instagram video while getting her first round of Taxol chemotherapy, saying that the Benadryl they administered to her while on it was making her feel "tired and high." But she's not letting her illness halt her career. Lowe has also posted videos on Instagram capturing her directing a movie remotely while getting chemo.