A 31-year-old Brisbane woman is facing yearlong cancer treatment and a double mastectomy after finding a shower painful.
Marketing coordinator Sarah Anderson credits Google with giving her the incentive to consult a doctor about a potential breast cancer diagnosis.
Ms Anderson's worst fears were confirmed in July when she was diagnosed with stage 3 inflammatory breast cancer.
Ms Anderson spoke to ABC Radio's Loretta Ryan as part of October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month to advocate for earlier detection and to share her story.
"I got in the shower one night and the pain from the water hitting my nipple sent me through the roof," she said.
"I checked the other breast to see if maybe it was a hormonal thing, but the same pain was not happening in the other breast so then I hopped onto the dreaded Doctor Google."
Ms Anderson said despite there being stigma around consulting Google for health diagnoses, it pushed her to see a doctor.
"I spent a couple of weeks on Google thinking maybe the pain will subside, but after a while I started to think no, my emotions aren’t calming anymore," she said.
"I then took myself straight to the GP and within a couple of weeks I had received a diagnosis."
Ms Anderson said she was grateful for the swift action of her GP, who ordered several tests straight away.
Ms Anderson has finished two months of an eight-month chemotherapy course.
"They name it the Red Devil, as it's a very nasty chemotherapy that is dose-dense," she said.
"It’s going in and targeting any rogue cells that may be in my body and I am happy to say it's melting the tumour away.
"I also have chemotherapy until February next year, then a double mastectomy, then it will be six weeks of radiation Monday until Friday."
Ms Anderson said the decision to have a double mastectomy was due to an inherited gene that leaves her at a higher risk of recurrence.
Call for detection in younger women
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, one in seven women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
About 1,000 young women each year, or three a day, are diagnosed with breast cancer.
It's expected in 2022, over 3,200 Australians will die from breast cancer, including one woman under 40 each week.
In the past 10 years, breast cancer diagnosis has increased by 33 per cent, however, the five-year survival rates have improved from 76 per cent to 92 per cent.
Ms Anderson said she was living proof that breast cancer was no longer an "old ladies' disease".
"My message really is knowing your breasts and acting on anything that might be abnormal, " she said.
"Don't leave it because the longer you leave it, the harder it is to treat."
Ms Anderson said that if screening were available for younger women, they would be able to detect whether they have breast cancer earlier.
"That's the scary part, as when you have a diagnosis in a 31-year-old at stage 3, you think 'well that lady didn't have an opportunity to catch it at stage 1 or probably even stage 2', because you don't really get signs," she said.
"I think until it starts to become a greater issue and with earlier screening, perhaps just offering it when people are 20 years old, that might be something that needs to be considered."
Cancer in young women rare
Mater Hospital breast and endocrine surgeon Dr Emma Clarkson said women could voluntarily get screened for breast cancer at 40 and could have a mammogram at any age if symptoms were present.
She said detecting cancer in young women was "problematic" because their breast tissue was more dense than older women's, but cancer in those under 40 was still incredibly rare.
"Those that can be open and share their stories make people more aware of breast cancer and how common it is," she said.
"Be aware of what your breasts are like through all cycles of your life and screen, screen, screen."
