Actress Beverly Afaglo was already preparing to shave her hair for a movie role when she revealed to her manager, Abu Iddrisu, that she had been diagnosed with cancer and would begin treatment shortly after filming.
In a Facebook post reflecting on her final days, Abu recounted how the actress agreed to shave her hair for a character she was preparing to play, only to later reveal that she had also been diagnosed with cancer.
He explained that the idea first came up during conversations about the role, when he felt the character would be more convincing with a bald appearance. Beverly initially questioned whether the change was necessary before eventually embracing the decision.
“It was a dawn call — I was buzzing, hadn’t slept, and had just cracked something about the character. She needed to go bald. ‘Eeii Abu, isn’t that too much?’ you asked. No, I said. This is how I see her. You laughed, told me to hold on, said you had something to tell me. So that weekend I came home.
“You had just returned from the hospital with Ben. We sat on the floor together. Your face was different. I was still wearing my excitement. You smiled — but not your smile. Then you said, ‘Abu, you got it. I’m cutting my hair.’ I lit up. Then you said it was partly for the character, but partly because the results had confirmed cancer. You’d cut your hair for the shoot and begin treatment straight after,” Abu Iddrisu recounted.
Despite the diagnosis, Beverly reportedly insisted the production continue instead of being shelved. Abu said the team adjusted filming plans to accommodate her treatment schedule, reducing scenes and creating rest periods to make things easier for her.
The tribute also revealed that she later travelled to the United States in search of advanced medical care. At first, there was optimism surrounding the move, but communication gradually became limited as her condition worsened.
Eventually, Beverly returned to Ghana to spend more time with her children, a decision her manager said came at the cost of remaining on what may have been a more effective treatment path abroad.
Abu shared that as the illness progressed, the actress became increasingly withdrawn and distanced herself from even close friends and loved ones. Still, he said there were moments when her humour and warmth resurfaced despite the difficult circumstances.
One memory he described in detail was a hospital visit during which Beverly insisted on seeing him. Surrounded by machines and medical equipment, she still pulled him into a tight embrace and assured him she was not “going anywhere.”
Ending the tribute on an emotional note, Abu reflected on the void her passing has left in his life and the promise he now carries in her memory.
“Berv, you don’t know what you’ve left inside me. I am going to live fully — for myself, and for you. You haven’t gone. Something else has departed, but you remain. And I will live for both of us,” Abu Iddrisu wrote.
