FORMER Emmerdale star Leah Bracknell has been given renewed hope just months after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

The 52-year-old, who lives in Worthing, has discovered the genes she has through her Chinese mother has made her compatible with an experimental new drug that directly targets specific cancer cells.

She is now trialling the drug and says she is “grateful and thankful beyond belief and beyond words for this lifeline”.

The drug is not a cure but will hopefully buy Bracknell more time as she researches further immunotherapy treatments in Germany.

Emmerdale fans and stars rallied round Bracknell when news of her diagnosis broke in October as she and her partner launched a fundraising page to help raise money for treatment.

The original £50,000 target was quickly raised and currently stands at more than £62,000.

Writing on her blog, Bracknell, who played Zoe Tate on the soap for 16 years, thanked people for their good wishes, encouragement, support, messages, letters and prayers.

She wrote: “Not a day goes by when I don’t stop to think how exceptionally and unexpectedly lucky I have been to receive such a phenomenal, crazy, inspirational response.

“I can’t emphasise enough, how healing and inspiring it has been to know people are rooting for me, people I don’t even know quite often.”

Supporters have now raised more than £60,000 to help Bracknell research potential treatments.

Bracknell had originally been told the only option available to her was six rounds of palliative chemotherapy.

She wrote: “We asked about targeted therapy and were told compatibility rates are low, less than 10 per cent, and usually it is female, non-smokers who are Asian.

“But thanks to my extremely Chinese mother, I hoped that perhaps this could give me a break, a chance, a lifeline, a glimmer of hope.”

Bracknell transferred her care and treatment to another doctor who referred her for tests, showing she was a match for the targeted treatment.

It is taken daily as a tablet and because it targets the cancer cells directly, the rest of the body and immune system is less compromised and side effects are considerably eased in most cases.

Bracknell said: “It shows the prayers and good wishes I have received are working so far.

“So, for now, we breathe. We wait. We watch. We see. We live in hope.”

The mother-of-two, whose real name is Alison, has been working as a yoga instructor in recent years.

To donate to her fundraising efforts, visit gofundme.com/2r2kwanw.