An NHS oncology nurse was diagnosed with stage two aggressive cancer after her GP wrongly dismissed a lump in her breast as ‘nothing’, she claims.
Sophie Jackson, 26, from Dorset, discovered the mass on her right breast in September last year and immediately went to her doctor to have it checked.
But she was told the lump was probably caused by her hormonal cycle and to wait four weeks to see if anything had changed.
Not content with that answer given her experience on cancer wards, the nurse pushed for a referral to a breast cancer clinic.
She was given an ultrasound and four biopsies were taken from the lump in October, before she got the devastating news it was an aggressive tumour on November 4.
Immediately, she knew she would have to face her hair falling out, infertility and surgery over the coming months.
She traded her scrubs for six cycles of chemotherapy, 10 rounds of radiotherapy and a lumpectomy, receiving the drugs she had previously administered herself.
After 10 months, she is now cancer free and has returned to work, where she feels she has a ‘unique understanding’ of what patients are going through.
But she was told the cancer is likely to return in the next two years and is having to undergo a chemically-induced menopause that may lead to her bones becoming fragile.
Ms Jackson is now spreading the message for women to check their breasts, adding she may have died had she not rejected her GP’s advice and got herself a referral.
Sophie Jackson, 26, an oncology nurse from Dorset, was diagnosed with stage two aggressive cancer after her GP wrongly dismissed a lump in her breast as ‘nothing’, she claims
Her hair started coming out as a result of the chemotherapy, including her eyebrows and eyelashes. Pictured: Her first chemotherapy session
Around 56,000 new cases of breast cancer are detected in the UK every year, making it the most common form of the disease in the country.
It is the second most prevalent cancer in the US, with 288,000 diagnoses a year — 30 per cent of all female cancers.
The disease mainly occurs middle-aged and older women, with few aged younger than 45.
A family history of breast cancer, being overweight and taking hormone replacement therapy or certain types of the pill can increase the risk of the disease.
Breast cancer kills around 11,500 in the UK every year, making it the fourth most deadly form of cancer in the country.
But nearly nine in 10 women with the disease survive for five years or more after their diagnosis.
‘I cried my eyes out and first asked if I was going to die and second if I was going to lose all my hair,’ Ms Jackson told NeedToKnow.online.
‘Other than the lump I had no other symptoms whatsoever. It felt completely random and the diagnosis was such a shock.
‘I felt let down. The doctors initially thought it was nothing purely based on age.
‘I feel frustrated on the guidance out there with the ‘stereotypical’ lumps to look for such as being hard or non-moveable as mine met all the criteria to be what they classed as ‘nothing’.
‘If I’d left it four weeks like the GP suggested, it may have spread in that time and I’d have been looking at an incurable diagnosis.’
After 10 months, she is no cancer free and has returned to work, where she feels she has a ‘unique understanding’ of what patients are going through
In February, she decided to shave her head after her second round of the treatment, opting to wear wigs and headscarves
As well as feeling frustrated, Ms Jackson also struggled with already knowing how the process would work.
She said: ‘When I was diagnosed it was extremely overwhelming — usually you drip feed patient information as it is way too much to take on at once.
‘I didn’t have that luxury and instead was instantly aware of facing surgery, chemo, losing my hair and becoming infertile at such a young age.
‘I think my job did help in a way as I didn’t have the expected anxieties about chemo.
‘I knew what would happen, I knew the drugs, and I knew and trusted the people giving it to me which saved a lot of worrying.’
Her hair started coming out as a result of the chemotherapy, including her eyebrows and eyelashes.
In February, she decided to shave her head after her second round of the treatment, opting to wear wigs and headscarves.
She said: ‘It felt really strange receiving chemotherapy drugs I’d given to other patients before, like an out of body experience.
‘I was also in disbelief seeing my name on the chemo bag and having my details checked when it was usually me on the other side.
‘It caused distress as being unwell meant I couldn’t work for a while which made me anxious — especially seeing my colleagues continue working and looking after me.’
Sophie has been told that her cancer is likely to return within the next two years, but now wants to help raise awareness on the devastating disease
During her treatment, Sophie needed to stop work and now says that since coming back in July, her view on her job has changed.
She said: ‘I do feel differently about work, I have much more empathy towards patients now and feel like I have a unique understanding.
‘I do also have struggles though as I am also a cancer patient and still will be for a long time.
‘The typical NHS with short staff, being overworked and not getting breaks leaves me run down and exhausted.
‘It’s sometimes hard to process looking after patients and supporting patients through cancer when it means running myself into the ground when in reality I probably need the support myself.’
Although working on a cancer ward does sometimes cause Sophie periods of ‘constant fear’, she says that coming back to work has been a good distraction.
Sophie has been told that her cancer is likely to return but now wants to help raise awareness on the devastating disease — and the importance of advocating for your own health.
She added: ‘I’d just love to spread awareness that cancer can affect you at a young age even with no family history, no genetics, no risk factors other than taking the contraceptive pill.
‘Early detection has saved my life so it’s so important to check monthly and push to get things checked out. ‘You are never wasting anyone’s time.’
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