The first thought that entered my head when I was diagnosed with breast cancer aged 55 was, “Oh no – I’m going to suffer in the same way that mum did.”
So when Sarah Beeny revealed that she ‘knew’ she would one day get breast cancer like her own mother had, I knew exactly how the TV star felt. It can feel like a death sentence waiting to spring itself upon you.
My mum, Eileen was a similar age to me when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer, back in 1984. She had a lump but it was growing inwards and so wasn’t picked up until she had a routine mammogram.
