Lasharne, United Kingdom

On November 11 2024 I was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer which is also HER2 positive, but that’s not where my story starts, in March of the same year I was on a family vacation with my daughter who was 2 at the time was sleeping in my arms with her hand in my bra as normal when she repeatedly said “mommy hurts” which was alarming because she hasn’t said something like that before, so I checked the area which was my right breast, and that’s when I noticed the lump in typical avoidant fashion I pushed it to the back of my mind to enjoy the rest of the trip, worse thing I could’ve possibly done because it carried on growing so now I had to deal with it, I called my GP and explained everything that was happening and was dismissed because “my deodorant was probably the cause” now I’m not a doctor but that just doesn’t sound right, so after hounding them & hounding them I finally got my referral and was told it was a cyst, this was drained and I was sent on my way, this clearly wasn’t a cyst because it came back quicker and bigger and now I was feeling pain, I then had to start hounding them again to be re referred & finally I got a biopsy only to be brushed of as if I was being dramatic. after waiting for my results I was told the dreaded news that I had stage 1 breast cancer unfortunately after being taken seriously and being tested again it turned out to be stage 2 breast cancer which is HER2 positive. Since this diagnosis I have had 8 cycles of chemo therapy, a lumpectomy, 3 weeks of radiotherapy & I am not restarting chemotherapy for 18 more cycles to prevent the cancer coming back due to me being HER2 positive.

I did not want to stay silent along the way so I have been documenting my journey and will continue to be a voice when so many women do not have the confidence or support to do so.