Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon has recently revealed that she was treated for breast cancer, but kept the matter private.

She said she was diagnosed with the illness one year and a half ago, but she did not make the news public, even scheduling surgery so that she would not miss a performance of the play she was starring in at the time – “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.”

One of the very few people who knew about the actress’ problem was her partner Christine Marinoni.

“I didn’t want to make it public while I was going through it,” Nixon said, according to BBC News. “I didn’t want the paparazzi at the hospital, that kind of thing.”

The 42-year-old actress, who played red-haired lawyer Miranda Hobbes in the popular series “Sex and the City,” told the ABC network program that she had a feeling she might develop breast cancer, as her mother had suffered from the same disease.

“I felt scared. I thought, 'Oh, I don't want this to be happening'. I was very cognisant of if it's going to happen, this is the best way for it to happen, that it's found so early and we can just get right on it,” she said.

After undergoing surgery and a course of radiotherapy, Nixon recovered completely and has now become an official ambassador for cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

The issue of breast cancer occurred in Sex and the City, with Samantha, one of the four main characters, being diagnosed with the illness.