I first shared this post with friends on Facebook on my birthday. Every day before that, I’d come up with another excuse for why I shouldn’t share my story. The biggest lie I told myself was that I was one of the lucky ones and should just move on..more on that later. But the truth is, we should all feel encouraged to share our stories. Without the world understanding what we go through, nothing will ever change.
Here’s the short version of my story:
Health screening might be scary, but it gives you a fighting chance.
Today is my birthday.
And it’s not lost on me that it was exactly one year ago today that I got the “fun” birthday text inviting me for my first mammogram, basically congratulating me on being old enough to get my boobs squished. I laughed it off and ignored it because life was busy and it didn’t feel urgent.
Months later, a casual chat with a friend about perimenopause and HRT, plus a reminder from my GP, finally pushed me to book it.
Less than a week after that first scan, things changed fast. What started as a simple “baseline check” turned into more scans, biopsies, and weeks of uncertainty.
I was given an early diagnosis of “it’s not cancer,” which actually meant high‑grade DCIS, Stage Zero, the earliest form of breast cancer, caught before it became fully invasive, even though it affected a large area. Hearing the words “mastectomy” and “lymph node biopsy” attached to something labelled “not cancer” was incredibly confusing and overwhelming.
Eight weeks later, I went into a long, complex reconstructive surgery that kept me in theatre for over 10 hours. Recovery has tested me physically and mentally.
When the final results came back, they showed there had been invasive cancer , but it was caught early enough that surgery had already removed it.
Now, a few months on, I’m healing, feeling stronger, and grateful every day that I didn’t delay that screening, because the outcome could have been very different.
And as I celebrate another birthday, I’m also preparing for my next surgery and another stretch of recovery. But my focus is clear:
living my life, doing the things I love, and improving my health wherever I can.
Moral of the story:
Please prioritise your health screening. Go earlier if you can.
I had no symptoms. No family history. Just hormones quietly causing trouble.
Your future self will thank you.
