I would say I had a really good understanding of breast cancer; I did my degree in the medical field and so I didn’t feel like it posed a threat to me, or anyone young for that matter. However, at 22 years old, I found myself with a breast cancer diagnosis and a newfound appreciation for understanding your own body.
I found my lump completely by chance as someone had mentioned to me earlier in the day that I should check myself, but it’s something I’ve never consciously done before. When in the shower, I decided to have a feel around and came across a lump in my right breast. I thought at first that it couldn’t be sinister and even managed to convince myself that if I just went to sleep, it would be gone by the morning. Despite this, my mind was playing tricks on me; one minute I was thinking it must have bruised myself, and the next I was worrying that I may be ignoring something bad. I couldn’t stop thinking about it so I asked my friend whether she’d ever checked herself and she told me it wasn’t something she did. This helped to ease my mind and reassure me a little, as it obviously wasn’t something my peers were thinking about.
However, I knew something wasn’t right. I know my body and I couldn’t ignore my gut so the next day, I contacted my GP who booked me in right away and I was referred to a breast clinic for further scans. I was so scared and rang my parents who were overseas at the time, but helped to calm me down and reframe my thoughts so I didn’t become overwhelmed with worry. They were the only people I told as I didn’t want to worry my siblings or friends, so I ended up going to my follow up appointment on my own.
I will never forget sitting in the waiting room and looking around to see that I was the only young person in the room. I clung to this as an ounce of hope that surely someone of my age couldn’t get breast cancer.
This hope was further increased when the consultant told me that my lump was more likely to be fibroadenoma which was easily treated cosmetically. I went into my ultrasound with positive thoughts but that’s when I knew something was wrong. The doctors rushed around me and were calling different, more senior members of staff to look at the screen. Next thing I know, I’m having a biopsy as they wanted to test the tissue.
After all the drama of the ultrasound, I went back to see the consultant who dismissed all my worries and told me that I didn’t have anything to worry about. According to them, my ultrasound results were nothing like I was describing and from what they knew, there was no mention of a biopsy in my notes. It was at this moment that I realised how misinformed the consultant was, and after pushing for further information, I found out they were reading from someone else’s report!
I always think how lucky I was to have felt confident enough to advocate for myself and speak up when I felt something was wrong.
I could have easily believed them and walked out of the hospital that day thinking the lump was benign. It wasn’t and I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The next 12 months consisted of 6 rounds of chemotherapy, a single mastectomy, months of radiotherapy and will continue to be monitored. It was the hardest year of my life but I’m so grateful for the support system I had around me. My mental health was impacted significantly as I felt so stuck compared to my peers who were following their dreams. I had been accepted into medical school but now my life looks a little different. I’m proud of where I am and have learnt such valuable lessons from the experience. I want to continue to tell my story with the hope that more young people will understand that breast cancer doesn’t just affect older women. No matter who you are, you need to be checking yourself!
My advice for young people is to be confident in advocating for yourself. It takes confidence and self-belief but if I hadn’t persisted with my consultant, I might not have been so lucky. Check your chest monthly and get to know your body. I could save your life like it did mine!
