A mum claims a boob job 'saved her life' - after it pushed a hidden lump to the surface that turned out to be breast cancer. Rebecca Craggs had breast implants fitted last October but a fortnight later, while removing her bandages, her 'heart sank' as she felt a hard broad bean-sized lump on her right breast.
The 53-year-old rushed to see a GP to get it checked out and was eventually diagnosed with grade two invasive lobular breast cancer at the beginning of December. The mum-of-two had the 17mm lump surgically removed and received the good news that it hadn't spread, followed by three weeks of radiotherapy at the beginning of this April.
The former marketing executive 'counts her lucky stars' that she had the cosmetic surgery which enabled her to catch the cancer in the nick of time - as she wasn't due a mammogram for another two years. After a whirlwind ordeal, including a spinal tumour and sepsis featuring in her medical history, Rebecca is keen to raise awareness of the importance of going for routine mammograms and to regularly check for any lumps and bumps.
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Rebecca, of Birmingham, West Midlands, said: "I'm just counting my lucky stars that I actually had the boob job. Basically it was the implants that pushed the lump forward.
"So without that, I could have been wandering around not knowing I had it thinking that 15 months ago my mammogram was clear and I wasn't due another one for another two years. Unless it would have grown really quickly I wouldn't have felt it, so that was a blessing in disguise in a way.
"Because of the boob job I caught it early so it hadn't gone to my lymph nodes. It definitely could have saved my life. It saved it from progressing to further stages and ending up in my lungs, liver or whatever."
Rebecca had been toying with the idea of breast implants to make them more voluminous for around two years before she bit the bullet and had the procedure last October. Rebecca said: "I had the surgery and it was brilliant and I was really pleased but then two weeks later I was like 'oh my gosh, there's a lump there on the side of my right breast'.
"I think it was the first time I took it [surgical bra and bandages] off and had a look and that's when I found it. It was like a millimetre below the skin and it moved. It was really prominent - like a hard broad bean and about the size of one too.
"I didn't know what it was, was it scar tissue? My heart sank. I was thinking 'oh God'. I was just worried because your mind just races and you think of every scenario - of course I was thinking 'cancer'.'"
Rebecca got in to see her GP two weeks later in mid November to have the lump looked at. She was told that it looked like a cyst and 'wasn't anything to worry about' but was referred to the breast unit at Birmingham City Hospital.
She attended within two weeks where she had an ultrasound and a mammogram. Rebecca said: "Then I had a biopsy and went back to see the consultant, I could tell by their faces and they couldn't tell me there and then because the results had to be sent off.
"Then she brought a cancer nurse in and I thought 'oh my God' and I was by myself. Then she took me into a room and I just broke down. Three days later it came back that I had breast cancer.
"It was a really weird moment because I knew in my mind, I thought I had it. I didn't react at all really, I already knew.
"Even the consultant said 'God, you're taking this really well'. I think a few days later it suddenly hit me. The worst part was those three days waiting, that's even worse than being diagnosed because your mind is going through every scenario, could it be this, could it be that?"
After receiving the life-changing diagnosis, Rebecca had a lumpectomy and biopsy of her lymph nodes on December 29. They also removed an extra four millimetres of tissue around the tumour, she was later told that the margins were clear and that the cancer hadn't spread any further.
She also had three weeks of radiotherapy at the beginning of this April. The mum-of-two now checks her breasts daily and will go for annual mammograms for the next five years.
Rebecca said: "There's loads of ladies who missed their mammogram over lockdown and that's really concerning because there's loads of ladies walking around with breast cancer without knowing. Definitely book a mammogram and check your boobs all the time.
"And if you have got a lump, don't be scared to go to the doctor because it's only going to get worse if something's wrong. Because a lot of people think, 'oh, it's nothing, I'll do it later' or they're too scared just in case it's something, well if it is something you need to get it sorted.
"I had a cancerous spinal tumour 16 years ago and got sepsis a couple of years ago and that was awful, so all these things together make me think - 'just live your life', gosh. Because I think life is too short."
From Cancer Research UK, here are the breast cancer symptoms people should look out for. The first symptom of breast cancer most people notice is a lump in their breast or some thickening, others include:
- A new lump or thickening in your breast or armpit
- Change in size, shape or feel of your breast
- Skin changes in the breast such as puckering, dimpling, a rash or redness of the skin
- Fluid leaking from the nipple in a woman who isn’t pregnant or breast feeding
- Changes in the position of nipple
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