Lisa

It was April 2015 when Craig and I decided to have a cheeky 5 night break to Egypt on our own. This holiday saved my life!
Half way through the holiday a was checking out my tan lines in the mirror and noticed a dimple under my left breast when I raised my arm. It disappeared when I put my arm down.
I knew I needed to get it checked out so went straight to the doctors when I got home. A few days later I had an appointment with a consultant who checked me over and did an ultrasound.
He couldn’t find anything or see anything but referred me for a mammogram to make sure.
Craig was so relieved and I remember telling my Mum who was so happy but wondered why I wasn’t.
I knew deep down that I had cancer.
So that night I put on a brave face and went to watch a comedy show with Craig.
The following week I had the mammogram and was called back in to be told that I had a lot of calcification of the breast tissue. A further ultrasound showed a small tumour right at the back of my breast and a biopsy confirmed it was an aggressive form of cancer.
I was booked for a mastectomy but before I had it I decided to share a photo on Facebook of the dimple on my boob as I thought it was important for others to know the different signs to look out for. I didn’t expect it to go viral and I was featured in papers, online and even went on GMB.
I’m so proud that my picture has helped ladies be more breast aware and realise that it’s not always a lump you need to check for. I still get messages now from ladies who have seen my photo and notice similarities with themselves and get checked out.
Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, Herceptin and tamoxifen followed the mastectomy plus another op to remove my lymph nodes as it had spread.
I’ve been in some terribly dark places at times, but the thought of leaving my 4 kids without a mum made me fight it the fight of my life.
Now, here I am, 5 years later with new boobs and loving my life. I am so thankful for my amazing kids, husband, family and friends for helping me through this.