"When life gives you lemons, check your melons": Bath mum's campaign to younger women this Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Jessica Parsons was diagnosed back in June - and is now urging others to be aware of the risk
October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month - and a mum of two from Bath is urging women to 'check their melons' after she found a lump whilst breastfeeding her daughter.
36-year-old mum of two Jessica Parsons has launched a campaign on Instagram, sharing her journey battling with cancer, after being diagnosed earlier this year.
Finding the lump when breastfeeding her 7-month-old daughter, she originally thought a lump in her breast was a blocked milk duct, but after getting an appointment with her GP, it was later discovered to be something more serious - and was referred to Bath's RUH for treatment.
Jess is now urging people - of any age - to come forward and get checked for breast cancer, especially as routine mammograms are usually offered to older women.
Jess said: "I was breastfeeding my daughter and I felt a lump. It was maybe two or three centimeters, and I thought it might have been a blocked milk duct - that's what friends and family said too. But I had a feeling that it wasn't that.
"I was referred straight to the breast unit as the RUH in Bath - because I knew there was something wrong - but I never would have imagined they'd actually say it was breast cancer.
"I'm no stranger to cancer - and I know I'm not invincible - but when you're on maternity leave, it's a really happy time, and I've always seen myself as fairly low-risk. They also say breastfeeding lowers your risk of breast cancer, and I never expected it would happen to me.
"That's one of the reasons why I wanted to speak up about it - because cancer doesn't discriminate. I'll put my hands up - I didn't regularly check myself - and I kind of wish I had, because I keep wondering, would I have found my lump sooner?"
Through Jess and a friend, they came up with a quirky name for her latest social media project, 'Life Lemons and my Melons'.
She added: "Pretty much as soon as I was diagnosed, I went on social media to find people in the same situation as me. And there were loads of younger women, and women who had children, which I was really worried about, especially with my 6-year-old.
"It made me think, if I can support others and raise awareness, that's the biggest thing for me. Just to help someone to not go through what I went through... that's the main thing I'm trying to achieve.
"We also thought it was a funny name - but also it just spoke to me. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!"
The disease she was diagnosed with accounts for less than 2% of breast cancers - called metaplastic squamous cell carcinoma - and is now coming to the end of six rounds of chemotherapy.
RUH Consultant Surgeon Jamie McIntosh said: "One in five breast cancers is in women before they reach the menopause, and we have seen the number of younger women being diagnosed increase in the last 10 years.
"That's why it's really important to be aware of any changes. This includes lumps but also, especially in younger women, things like changes to skin texture, change in breast shape or a feeling of thickening rather than a distinct lump.
"The good news is that there are some amazing things happening in breast cancer research and treatment development, including many new treatments that are really specifically targeted to the type of breast cancer a patient has. "For many people finding a lump won't mean they have cancer, but if it does our team is here to look after you every step of the way."
Jess is then set to undergo surgery to have a mastectomy before radiotherapy treatment in the new year.
For information and tips on how to check your breasts, see the CoppaFeel! website.