A different blog post than usual…
A different kind of post from me today. Not the usual birth story or a positive post about my life as a midwife but a more personal story, which I’m sharing, in the hope it may reach someone else and may save a life!
I’ve had an anxious few weeks until I was seen today at the one stop breast screening clinic, after finding a lump in my breast recently. I’ll be honest, I hadn’t checked my own breasts for a long time 🙈. I felt nonchalant about it as I had been screened a few years prior and everything was normal. That was until my lovely mam was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer a month ago.
There has been no history of breast cancer in our family that we could think of. The only other history of cancer in our family was when my youngest son was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when he was 4 (he’s 22 now and doing amazing btw).
My mum had been for screening in the past and has had other lumps checked which were all normal. She didn’t think this one would be any different. Infact, she nearly didn’t get it checked as she thought it would be another cyst and at the time, had other health issues going on resulting in needing emergency surgery. For a few weeks she left it. Reassured from the fact she had a clear mammogram a few months previous and it wasn’t a priority for her at that time.
Her diagnosis is stage 1, grade 3 micropapillary carcinoma. Basically caught early, but an aggressive growing type of cancer. Which had it not been picked up early, has the potential to rapidly grow and spread. The prognosis may not have been so promising had she left it longer. My mam has surgery this Thursday to remove the lump and some lymph nodes for further testing and will undergo reconstructive surgery. Further testing of the tissues will then determine the type of treatment she will need. Drs are confident it’s curable as it was caught early 🙏❤️
I am no longer blasé about this and urge everyone to check for any lumps or other breast changes and get them checked ASAP!! Early detection and treatment makes a huge difference, literally saves lives! Don’t be afraid or embarrassed of a health professional examining your breasts or potentially needing further tests. Hey, we’ve all got breasts, in all shapes and sizes and the nurses & doctors see and examine many boobs a day! Please get checked!
Thankfully, I was seen by my GP quickly and was referred to the breast clinic, for an appointment 3 weeks later (which was today). I saw a lovely nurse who had a good feel and marked the lump, then I had a mammogram, then an ultrasound scan and I can happily say my lump is not cancerous. Nothing to be concerned about 🙌. It’s worth getting your knockers out and felt for the reassurance everything is normal, or for the quick diagnosis and treatment if there are concerns.
So ladies AND gents, this is a reminder to check your breasts/chest!
