A breast cancer survivor's urging women across Lincolnshire and Newark to check themselves for symptoms
Suzanne Lowes, from Mablethorpe's speaking to us as new stats show less than half of women check themselves regularly - with one in ten saying they've never done it
A Lincolnshire woman's sharing her experience of breast cancer, as a charity urges people to check themselves regularly.
Suzanne Lowes, from Mablethorpe, first noticed a lump on her right breast and was told that it was hormonal, but after it remaining for half a year, she returned to the GP and was instantly referred:
"So, I first found a lump in my right breast in November 2017 and I went to the doctor and they said it was hormonal, that it was down to hormones.
"So, of course I left it at that... but, we all know our own bodies and I think that, that's the most important thing to get across, you know, your own body, and don't take no for an answer, because at that time, I just accepted the fact that the doctor had said it was hormonal.
"So, then fast forward to March 2018, and I went to the doctors again because this lump was still there and they referred me straight away."
She's speaking to us as a survey's found one in ten women say they've never checked themselves.
"About two or three weeks after my biopsy, I got the diagnosis of breast cancer... which was pretty devastating.
"My husband worked away at the time. So, I remember facetiming him in the appointment and it was like... like your whole world just falls apart."
Suzanne then had a lumpectomy, followed by treatments of radiotherapy and Tamoxifen, which she's been on for the last 5 years.
"I was actually quite scared. You just don't know what's going to happen. It's the unknown. Your world falls apart at the time."
She says that if she could go back, she would have stood her ground more in the first instance of noticing the lump:
"I was actually quite angry, that it wasn't picked up to start with. I know mistakes are made, but when you're going through it, I think... you just trust them, you put in your life in their hands and yes, I was bitter. But you know, I've had time to reflect on it - but you know, it has been a positive outcome for me, but I know I'm not the only one that that's happened to, and that's why I would absolutely tell anybody that if you find a lump, or you're not even sure about a lump, then you go and you get it checked out and you don't take no for an answer."
The new research commissioned by Breast Cancer Now, reveals that more than two in five (44%) women in the UK do not check their breasts regularly for possible signs and symptoms of breast cancer.
The survey also found that 1 in ten (10%) UK women revealed they’ve never checked their breasts, and 13% check at least once a year or less.
When asked what stops or prevents them from regularly checking their breasts, the main reasons women gave included: forgetting to check (46%), not being in the habit of checking their breasts (37%), lacking confidence in checking their breasts (18%), and 14% said they didn’t know how to check their breasts.
Of the women who do check their breasts for possible signs and symptoms of breast cancer, 3 in 10 (29%) don’t feel confident that they would notice a change.
Breast Cancer Now is calling for all women to ‘get to know their normal’ and help raise awareness of breast cancer and breast health.