A Lisburn mum has opened up about her breast cancer diagnosis after first thinking a lump was down to her experience breast feeding her little girl. Cara Fenton was just 33-years-old when she was told those devastating words - 'you have cancer'.
Cara is now sharing her story, in the hope that it may encourage other men and women to seek medical assurances if they have any concerns about their bodies or health. Speaking to Belfast Live, she said while getting washed and ready for an evening out on June 15 2024, she felt a large lump on her left breast, likening it to bouncy ball.
She welcomed her daughter into the world the year before and was breastfeeding, so first thought it could have been due to her daughter only feeding off that breast. She wasn't aware of what lay ahead, when exactly two months later, she was diagnosed with stage 2b grade three triple negative breast cancer.
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"The 15th of June was a Saturday so I phoned the GP on the Monday and got seen straight away. I had previously Googled and although my lump felt quite big it did sound like a fibroid benign lump, she said.
"The doctor that examined it and thought it was a benign lump but as there was family history on my dad's side I was referred to the breast clinic as a non-urgent referral. I was told this takes about eight weeks, urgent referrals are two weeks. but got my letter through and had an appointment to attend Ulster Breast and Endocrine Centre on July 25, so the referral only ended up being five and a half weeks.
"I attended the breast clinic and had an ultrasound and biopsy. They don't usually do mammograms if you're under 40 as younger peoples breasts are too dense and don't give a true reflection. I also wanted to let them know before anything was done that I was in early pregnancy.
"My ultrasound showed the lump as looking like a benign type, the type myself and my GP thought. I was told I would get a letter sent out in around 7-10 days. This time had passed and it was close to three weeks so I decided to chase it up on the 13th of August. My biopsy wasn't fully back yet although I then got a phone call the same day asking could I attend the Breast and Endocrine Centre on August 15th. I was taken back a bit and was starting to worry as I was expecting a letter and to be honest, I wasn't expecting anything bad to come of it.
"I attended the centre and was then given the news that I had grade 3 triple negative breast cancer. Google will tell you it's the type you don't want. My diagnosis and me finding the lump was exactly two months apart. On June 15, I found the lump, on July 15, I found out I was pregnant, and on August 15, I was told I had cancer."
Cara says because triple negative is an aggressive type of breast cancer, it will always require chemotherapy. She had her lumpectomy on September 6th, three weeks after her diagnosis. The procedure was due to be on August 30, but her mammogram showed significant changes so this needed to be looked into more, causing a slight delay. The changes were thankfully due to her breastfeeding, and nothing more sinister.
"I felt numb when I found out and to be honest, I don't know if it's truly sunk in yet," Cara said.
"I think once I'm finished active treatment then I might actually realise all I have been through and will struggle going through it. It's not just the physical symptoms that come with it, it's the mental - looking in the mirror and not recognising yourself through hair loss, weight gain/loss, steroids changing your face and worrying when you go out do you look sick.
"What you do need to remember is this is just temporary you will get your sparkle back. You hear all the time one in two will get cancer but you never think it's going to be you and especially not when you're in your early 30s."
"I'm currently four rounds through chemotherapy," Cara continued.
"I was also gene tested and if this was positive it would require a double mastectomy. The gene testing takes a while coming back and mine was about 10 weeks. I knew triple negative was more gene related so I was expecting the worst and hoping for the best. Thankfully mine came back as negative which was a relief as the stress and worry of passing it on to my daughter in the future.
"Although it still blows my mind I have had three aunts and a cousin on my dad's side who all had breast cancer in their late 20s/early 30s and there's no gene link.
"I wanted to share my journey to help raise awareness, to show cancer doesn't care what age you are, to show you can still get treatment if you are pregnant (even though I sadly miscarried). I am also sharing my journey to help myself and to look back on to see how far I have come and to offer advice and receive advice. I have came across so many amazing people on this journey and we have got each other through hard days by sharing our experiences and checking in on one another.
"I was also shocked at the amount of people I have came across that are under the age of 40, which is scary. It can be a lonely time and although having great family and friends' support I don't think anyone knows how you truly feel unless you're going through it.
"You try to stay positive but some days it's hard and you worry about reoccurrence and getting back to normal life. Triple negative has a higher chance of reoccurrence. I would urge everybody to check themselves once a month male or female. I'll be honest I felt mine by chance so I'm very lucky.
"Know the signs although mine was a lump there are many more signs, nipple discharge, puckering, pain, swelling, change in size. Most importantly if something doesn't feel right get it checked out even if you're pregnant or breastfeeding don't talk yourself out of it and if you aren't getting taken seriously or deemed "too young" keep pushing as early detection saves lives. That biopsy on 25th July has saved mine.
"The Ulster Hospital Breast and Endocrine Centre and Macmillan have all been fantastic throughout and have made the unimaginable manageable."
You can follow Cara's journey on her Instagram page here. For more information on the services offered by Macmillan, or for advice and guidance on breast cancer, please click this link.
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