When Home and Away actress Alea lost feeling in 2 fingers, it led to a devastating diagnosis.

When Alea O'Shea began to feel "off" six weeks ago, she brushed it off.

The 25-year-old Home and Away actress — most known for playing Darcy Callahan on the show between 2011-2014 before returning to the show in 2016 — then started experiencing slight changes in her body.

"I noticed that my smile was a little uneven, and it felt harder to talk [and] get my words out," the young actress said in a video shared on her Instagram and TikTok.

"I had a few migraines, but nothing scary."

Then Alea went on a work trip to the US and her condition rapidly worsened.

"While I was in LA, I lost feeling in two of my fingers, which then crept into my wrist and then my toe," she said.

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A post shared by Alea O’Shea ⚡️ (@alea_osheaa)

She initially assumed she had a pinched nerve but after visiting a physiotherapist, he urged her to seek medical attention. "He immediately realised it was beyond his scope and sent me to get a brain scan. And that's how we found it," Alea said.

The 25-year-old was diagnosed with brain cancer.

"This is a video I obviously thought I'd never have to make," she began when sharing the news in a video on TikTok and Instagram.

"I'm choosing to be open and honest about this online, because I want to live my life as normally as possible while I'm fighting this," she added, saying she will soon commence cancer treatment.

Watch the six warning signs to look out for with a brain tumour. Post continues after video.

The 25-year-old has already seen changes in her body since the diagnosis.

"I can still walk, I can still lift my arm… can I flip you off? No. Thumbs up? No. Or hold things? No," she said.

"But the good news is, where it is on my brain isn't going to affect my personality. I'm still going to be as hilarious, and have the gift of the gab."

The next step for the social media star is to undergo surgery, which she says could lead to hair loss and "left side paralysis".

But she's taking it all in one day at a time.

O'Shea will begin treatment soon. Image: Instagram

"In the coming months, I might be doing videos one-handed. I might disappear when I need to, but mostly, I'm going to be showing up as me every single day that I can," she said.

"To everyone who follows me and has been invested in my journey thus far, regardless, thank you so much for being here. And thank you for staying through this chapter."

The young woman doesn't want this part of her life to define her.

"It's just another part of my story," she said.

"And if it can bring some perspective, comfort, or positivity to other people out there going through it, whilst helping me get through it, that's all I could ever want."

Along with her work on Home and Away, Alea is known for her social media presence, where she shares content focused on fashion, beauty and lifestyle. She has worked as a dancer and appeared in other TV productions like Underbelly: Vanishing Act.

We've reached out to Alea for comment on this story.

Feature image: Instagram/@alea_osheaa.