Breast Cancer Awareness:
Jess shares her story
Hi, I’m Jess – I’m 29 and I’m a 47 Skin Ambassador.
I wanted to share my story with you to help raise awareness for breast cancer and show how important it is to check your breasts regularly.
A couple of years ago, I was on holiday with my best friend. On the last day, I noticed some stains on the inside of my pyjama top. I thought it was odd but decided it was probably just sun cream, so I ignored it.
But the same thing happened again the next day and I noticed that there was some fluid coming out of one of my nipples. It didn’t hurt at all and I couldn’t feel any lumps, but I told my friend, and we both agreed this wasn’t normal and I should get it checked out.
So when I got home I booked an appointment with my GP who referred me for tests at a breast clinic. They couldn’t see anything unusual and I hadn’t had any further symptoms, but my consultant decided to refer me for an ultrasound just to make sure.
Ultrasounds are usually offered to younger women instead of a Mammogram as the breast tissue is slightly different.
When I had my ultrasound, they noticed a small build up in one of my milk ducts. They did a biopsy and sent it off to be tested for cancerous cells.
It took about a week to get the results – it was an anxious time for me, but my consultant was very reassuring which made me feel better.
Unfortunately, the results were inconclusive so they didn’t know whether it was something to be concerned about or not. They suggested that I have it removed so that they could analyse it properly.
I went in around a month later and had an operation to remove the lump. I was quite scared as I had never been under general anaesthetic before, but I felt happy that it was being removed and that if it was cancerous, it was very small and didn’t seem to have spread.
It was actually a very simple operation, despite my worrying before! I recovered very quickly and I only have a small scar on my nipple now. Luckily, they didn’t have to remove the whole milk duct so I should still be able to breast feed in the future.
Thankfully for me, when they analysed the lump, it turned out to be benign. But if I had left it – it could have developed into something worse or become cancerous.
I’m so glad that I paid attention to the signs and went to get it checked out, because it could have been a completely different story otherwise.
I would massively encourage you to get anything that isn’t normal examined by your GP.
Remember, it’s not always a lump that could be a warning sign. I know it can feel scary, but it’s the right thing to do and you could be saving your life in the future.
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