United Kingdom, April 16 -- Amanda Peet has explained why she decided to keep her cancer diagnosis secret for six months.

The 54-year-old actress went public with her health crisis in March when she wrote about her experience in a candid essay for The New Yorker revealing a check-up in August showed tumours in her breast which turned out to be a form of cancer. The magazine piece marked the first time Amanda revealed her diagnosis to the world as she initially kept the cancer news within a very small circle of trusted loves ones - her two best friends and her husband, David Benioff - and she's now explained she kept it all quiet for the sake of her children, Frances, 18, Molly, 15, and Henry, 11.

During an appearance on the Smartless po...