Today's post is quite a personal one but I thought what better time to make it than during October, with it being Breast Cancer Awareness month. In all honesty I've debated making this post all month but I've just decided to bite the bullet and put it out there in the hopes that it can be of some use to somebody out there. Breast Cancer is of course a tragic disease and is currently the most common form of cancer in the UK so awareness of the signs to look out for are paramount in the fight to beat it, and awareness is what I'm hoping to highlight in this post as I go into my own experience.
Going back to January 2009, I was 16 and busy worrying about school, exams and the million other things going on in my life at the time. I wasn't a regular when it came to checking for any signs or changes relating to breast cancer but for some reason at that time I decided to give it a go and wasn't expecting to find anything, never mind quite a large lump. Terrified wasn't the word and of course my mind went into overdrive, panicking about what was happening and what this could mean for me at just 16 and with a family history of breast cancer, so I then turned to my Mum and told her everything. A trip to the doctors then led to seeing a specialist consultant at hospital and after many x-rays, ultrasound scans and a biopsy I was thankfully told that it was a benign breast tumour called a Fibroadenoma. It was strongly recommended that the lump be removed due to its size and by the time July came around I was admitted as a day patient for the hour long operation to have it removed. Of course it was a painful experience but it soon healed and today I'm left with a barely visible scar as a reminder. Now you'd think that would be the end of it, but 3 years on I'm currently attending hospital appointments for a second Fibroadenoma in the very same place (thank you very much boobs) so I'm just hoping that this one can be kept under control.
After that little story I'm sure you'll probably know a bit too much about me now but with it being Breast Cancer Awareness month I wanted to put my story out there and hopefully make readers more aware of the importance of regularly checking your breasts for any unusual changes. I'm very thankful that it was a false alarm for me but I'd strongly urge all you ladies to keep up to date with checks and always go to your GP if in doubt.Let's all be breast aware.
