911: Lone Star actress speaks on the shocking health scare one character has

911: Lone Star just put one of its main characters through a huge health ordeal, and the actress speaks up about what it means!

Caution: This article contains SPOILERS for 911: Lone Star Season 5 Episode 6

911: Lone Star Season 5 has been on a good run with the latest episode involving Owen trying to save horses from a barn fire while also confronting his guilt for aiding his half-brother to end his life rather than face a terminal illness. 

Earlier in the episode, Nancy (Brianna Baker) was trying to share photos with the group only to discover she’d accidentally sent a rather risque photo of herself and Mateo to the entire station. Worse, it had the two in a very compromising position in Owen’s office. The pair thus went on a frantic quest to get everyone’s phones to delete the photos.

This light-hearted subplot took a turn when Tommy (Gina Torres) saw the photo and asked to talk to Nancy. Rather than be upset about the photo, Tommy was more concerned as she saw something unusual on Nancy’s bare breast. That freaked Nancy out as she’d lost her mother and grandmother to cancer. 

Speaking to TVLine, Baker shared how the story turn may have been shocking but that was intentional to mimic real life. 

"That’s what it’s like in real life. When you get shocking news or bad news, you’re just like, la dee da, then all of a sudden there’s like a hammer that comes down. I liked that there wasn’t any foreshadowing."

That feeling continued throughout the episode, which included another unexpected turn. 

Who has cancer on 911: Lone Star?

Nancy and Mateo had an argument about the diagnosis, and Nancy felt Mateo didn’t understand how scared she was about this. But they came together when she discovered Mateo was ready to shave his head to match Nancy if she lost her hair to chemotherapy. 

Tommy accompanied Nancy to a doctor’s appointment and, to show her support, got heself tested as well. After some tension, Nancy got the wonderful news that this was just a cyst, not a lump, so she was cancer-free. She shared the good news with Tommy just as Tommy’s doctor called. In a truly bitter irony, Tommy was rocked to be informed that “the doctor found something, and it’s bad.” The episode ended with Tommy tearfully embracing a stunned Nancy.

Baker says this will be a blow to Nancy as much as Tommy and that “definitely wears on her..she’s terrified of losing this woman who she looks to as a mother (and) probably has PTSD as far as worst-case scenarios on this diagnosis."

It’s up in the air how Tommy’s diagnosis is going to play out, as she may want to keep it quiet as much as possible from the rest of the team while she does her job. Eventually, she will have to reveal it and seeing the usually tough and strident Tommy shaken by the idea of her possibly dying will rock the entire station.

So as 911: Lone Star heads into the second half of its final season, fans will know Tommy’s health is going to be a huge concern for the audience as well as viewers. 

911: Lone Star airs Mondays at 8/7c on Fox.