When I was 7 months pregnant with my second son I found a lump in my breast. I went to the doctor who thought it was most likely a blocked milk duct but tried to refer me to the breast clinic to be sure. Without even seeing me the breast clinic decided that due to my advanced pregnancy that it must be hormone related and dismissed me. I was told to keep an eye on it and come back if it gets worse. After a few weeks the lump had grown so I returned to the GP. Again the GP referred me to the breast clinic, this time omitting my pregnancy from the referral. This time they agreed to see me. I went to the hospital and they sent me over to the ultrasound department for an ultrasound on my breast and an attempt to draw fluid (they thought they could drain some milk from a blockage). After being unable to drain anything and seeing the lump in the ultrasound, they took a biopsy and said I would hear soon. By this point I was less than a month off my due date.
Fast forward to the end of March. I go into hospital in the wee hours of the morning and give birth to my beautiful son via emergency c-section. My husband and I are delighted. Not 2 hours following the surgery we are in recovery, doting over our new addition. My midwife is called out and returns a couple of minutes later with the breast clinic surgeon. She informs me that the results of my biopsy show that I have breast cancer. Due to the size of the tumour and the rate at which it has grown, it is classified as stage 3. We’re left stunned, we were both so convinced that this lump was hormone related and due to the pregnancy. It was terrible timing having just had a baby, the anaesthetic still hadn’t worn off, but in great fairness to the doctors and nurses they were very apologetic, attentive and sympathetic. The doctor came back later in the day once I had had time to process the information to see if I had any questions and how I was doing. The hospital even offered me a bed on a private ward so that my husband could stay with me and the baby. However, although I was caught off-guard my attitude was sturdy. I wanted to be pragmatic. People are diagnosed with breast cancer all the time, beat it and get on with their lives. Cancer is not necessarily a death sentence, and it wouldn’t be for me. I knew it would be a tough road but what did I need to do.
The first step was a CT scan to ensure the cancer hadn’t spread. The reason they told me when they did, was because they wanted me to have a CT scan before I left the hospital. Minimising my trips into the hospital with a new-born was the consideration, and an appreciated one. Next was treatment. The idea was to put me on 6 cycles of intravenous chemotherapy followed by surgery and radiotherapy. The only delay in this was the fact that I had just had a baby. The first few weeks of his life was the most beneficial of breast milk so I could feed his for about 4 weeks but he needed to be weaned off by 6 weeks so that I could start chemo. I was a little disappointed to not be able to have that aspect of bonding with my son but it turned out ok as he didn’t really take to feeding and preferred the bottle anyway.
