Western Australian woman issues a warning to breastfeeding mothers after she found a lump

A mother whose nagging doubts led her to seek a second opinion about the lump in her breast – which had initially been diagnosed as not serious – was devastated to be told she had cancer.

Katie Tate, 35, from Western Australia, is thankful her ‘weird feeling’ prompted her to get a second opinion before the cancer spread further but is still battling the illness and wanted her story to be a cautionary tale for all young mothers.

She had just given birth to her second child when she noticed a lump in her right breast in December 2018.

‘I went to the doctor because I didn’t have any mastitis [a condition causing painful inflammation of breast tissue] symptoms,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.

Katie Tate, pictured having her head shaved by daughter Keke, was breast feeding her second child Nalu, being held by her husband Dylan, when the mother-of-two found a lump on her chest in December 2018

Mrs Tate had an ultrasound and the results were found to be inconclusive.  

‘I was told if I wanted to follow up I could but it wasn’t necessary and in my mind that was enough,’ she said.

The early warning signs of breast cancer 

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women in Australia, after non-melanoma skin cancer. It is the second most common cancer to cause death in women, after lung cancer.

Early symptoms include new lumps or thickening in the breast or under the arm, nipple sores, nipple discharge or inversion, changes in the size or shape of the breast, dimpling across the skin of the breast and rashes across the breast. Pain is rare.

Source: Cancer Council Australia

‘I am so passionate about health and fitness and it didn’t go away when I stopped breastfeeding. I just had this weird feeling and I thought: “Nah, I am going to get it checked because I want to be 100 per cent”.’

The day after her son Nalu’s first birthday Mrs Tate went to another doctor who sent her for CT and MRI scans.

Mrs Tate then got the ‘overwhelming and shocking’ news that she had invasive ductal carcinoma breast cancer.

‘I didn’t think it was going to be cancer, I just thought – I don’t know what I thought to be quite honest,’ she said.

She urged any other breastfeeding woman who may have found lumps on their breasts to get them checked. 

Mrs Tate, pictured in hospital, was told her original results were inconclusive so she went and got tested again and was told she has breast cancer

Mrs Tate, pictured in hospital, was told her original results were inconclusive so she went and got tested again and was told she has breast cancer

BREAKDOWN OF MEDICAL TERMS 

Mastitis – A common issue experienced by women, particularly when breastfeeding, causing breast tissue to become sore and inflamed.

Invasive ductal carcinoma – The most common type of breast cancer with 8- per cent of patients suffering from this type

Ductal carcinoma in situ –  The earliest form of breast cancer where there are abnormal cells in the milk duct

Mastectomy – The removal of the whole breast

Mrs Tate said she was furious with how her situation was originally handled. 

‘Afterwards I was a bit like “holy s**t”. At first I was angry at my original doctor because if they had just referred me to the breast clinic then it could have still been ductal carcinoma in situ,’ she said.

A week after her diagnosis Mrs Tate made the decision to have a mastectomy.

She said she was given other options such as radiation, chemotherapy and a lumpectomy but she knew she wanted a mastectomy.    

‘I knew if I had one I would have a full pathology and better know what I was dealing with and I just wanted it gone. I’d rather have no breast than cancer,’ she said.

Mrs Tate urged any other breastfeeding woman who may have found lumps on their breasts to get them checked

Mrs Tate urged any other breastfeeding woman who may have found lumps on their breasts to get them checked

‘I decided it for my children.’

Mrs Tate had her right breast removed but has so far declined to have a reconstruction.

‘I’ve met the plastic surgeon because it is part of the process but I am undecided because it is a major surgery and I am OK with the way that I look now. I don’t hate it,’ she said.

Mrs Tate said she isn’t sure she wants to have the procedure but has had difficulty shopping due to the mastectomy.

She said she was shopping in a specialty bra store for women who have had the surgery but couldn’t find a bra that fitted her. 

‘I asked the lady why they don’t make them smaller and she said “because people as small as you don’t wear bras”,’ Mrs Tate recalled, saying she was a bit shocked by that.    

Mrs Tate is still going through her last round of chemotherapy, which has impacted her sleep, and she will begin five weeks of radiation at the beginning of January. 

She said it has been hard trying to determine what part of her diagnosis she should share with her three-year-old daughter and one-year-old son.

Mrs Tate said one of the hardest parts she and her husband have had to deal with is how much to include their children, pictured together in the outdoors, in what is going on

Mrs Tate said one of the hardest parts she and her husband have had to deal with is how much to include their children, pictured together in the outdoors, in what is going on

‘The doctors said try to include your children as much as you can, talk to them about cancer but it’s such a big word for a child,’ she said.

‘We’ve never said “Mummy has cancer” we said “Mummy has a sore breast with a lump in it so it has to come out”.’

She said they do try and include them as much as possible – like her daughter helped shave her head and made a banner when she had her mastectomy.  

‘She knows I come home from chemo and I am a bit unwell. We just don’t tell her I have cancer – not because she shouldn’t know but because it is such a big word for a child,’ she said.

Mrs Tate is currently undergoing chemotherapy and will have five weeks of radiation from next year

Mrs Tate is currently undergoing chemotherapy and will have five weeks of radiation from next year

Mrs Tate has two philosophies that she lives by when it comes to her cancer battle. 

The first is: ‘You may have cancer, but cancer doesn’t have you.’

Her second philosophy was coined following a text message exchange with a friend.  

‘A friend sent me a message saying: “kick it in the d***” and I just thought that was so appropriate. I was angry at it and just wanted to beat it. You’ve just got to fight and kick it in the d***, ‘ she said.

Mrs Tate said she and her family have been struggling financially with the costs of her medical bills and the loss of a paycheck. 

Mrs Tate and her young family, pictured by a campfire, have felt the financial hardship of her being unable to work

Mrs Tate and her young family, pictured by a campfire, have felt the financial hardship of her being unable to work

‘It’s really hard for me to ask for help,’ she said, recalling going to a colleague at work about her woes.

‘I am a working mum and we are a family of split finances so when I can’t work it is a big financial loss. It’s embarrassing but everyone has their own financial hardships,’ she said.

The friend set up a Go Fund Me while other friends make sure to drop off meals for her and her family.

Mrs Tate said the kindness she had been shown was overwhelming.

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