'I was told young people have lumpy boobs - then I was diagnosed with cancer'

A woman who was concerned for her health was told "young people have lumpy boobs" before she was eventually diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer.

Scottish teacher Beth Ferguson, 30 contacted her GP in October 2022 when she discovered a small lump on her left breast.

The GPbelieved the lumpwas most likely benign or a cyst because it was smooth and mobile, but Beth was referred to the local breast clinic just in case. There, she was informed it was "nothing to worry about" as "younger people have lumpy boobs".

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Around 10 months later, Beth began to notice that the lump was growing. She returned to her GP and was referred to Gartnavel Hospital, Glasgow. The Mirror has approached NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde for comment.

An ultrasound and biopsy revealed Beth had a triple negative tumour. Beth, a physics and maths teacher, from Glasgow, said: "After noticing the lump, I went to my doctor, who said I was fine.

"They referred me to the local breast clinic, and the consultant said it was a cyst and there was nothing to worry about. They said I was young, and younger people have lumpy boobs. After that, I wasn't worried; they said if anything changes, or it gets bigger, to come back."

She had first noticed the lump in the shower. "It started off small, it gradually got bigger and never really went away,” she explained, according to the Daily Record. Beth added she thought it was unlikely to be anything serious as she had no family history of “anything serious” and believed the lump was most likely a cyst,

She said the clinic’s comment about lumpy breasts put her mind at ease. "Life went on - I was training for and completed the Boston Marathon and got engaged to my partner in New York,” she said. She is now on the mend after 16 rounds of chemotherapy, a breast reconstruction and immunotherapy led to her being given the all clear in May last year.

Part of the reason for Beth’s shock at her diagnosis was that she felt “so healthy and fit” at the time she was diagnosed. Suddenly faced with an alarming diagnosis, Beth decided during her treatment to freeze her eggs because of the “induced menopause” she was put on to protect her ovaries during treatment.

“I largely coped well with the side effects and stayed very active between treatments,” Beth said of her treatments. "I continued my marathon training, I went to the gym, and I was still working for the first few months.

"One of the worst side effects was that I was put on induced menopause. They shut down my ovaries to protect them - I went into menopause overnight."

Despite the success of her treatment, Beth has said she has struggled to move on. “It was the start of anxiety for me,” she revealed.

She is now Breast Cancer Now and Secondary1st’s funded research which hopes to develop a more targeted treatment for people with triple negative breast cancer.