A mum convinced she had Long Covid was dealt a devastating blow when her daughter spotted her leaving the shower.
Ann Gilbert, from Walton, began feeling "washed out" after she had contracted Covid-19 last year.
The RAF veteran had been suffering "weird" symptoms - to such an extent that her brother suggested she move home after nearly 30 years away from Liverpool.
The 49-year-old told the Liverpool Echo : "I've always been somebody who's quite sparkly and quite bubbly, and I felt a little bit, washed out is the best way to describe it.
"But with having Covid and also being menopausal, you're at that time of life - you just think, 'Come on, get a grip, you've got this'."
Just three weeks after moving into a house, Ann's daughter spotted a lump on her right breast, just below her collar bone.
While Ann dismissed it as "just a little lump" not worth worrying about, the 24-year-old insisted she "just please get it checked out".
The mum was referred to Royal Liverpool Hospital, where her mammograms and biopsy revealed she had triple negative breast cancer, a fast-growing form.
Speaking to the ECHO about her diagnosis, Ann said: "The biggest thing is shock, because you hear the word 'cancer' and you automatically go into a tailspin.
"You automatically think a cancer diagnosis means the inevitable end of your life, or that you're going to become extremely unwell, and it's frightening.
"It is that dread and that feeling of, 'Oh my gosh, I'm 48, how the heck can this be happening to me?'."
The mum, who’s "always been extremely active", said she found the news hard to process.
She added: "I thought this wasn't going to happen to me. There's no history of breast cancer in the family. I've never smoked. I'm your typical, quite healthy person."
Ann said telling her brother was "quite a trauma", but she said breaking the news to her daughter, whose birthday was that weekend, was "possibly one of the most difficult things I've ever done".
Ann told the ECHO: "All she kept saying was, 'Are you going to die mum?'"
She added: "I'm quite a resilient person, I'd like to think. We're a typical Liverpudlian family, we cherish each other very much, and I didn't want them to be really devastated.
"So the kind of conversations we had were, you know, 'I've been diagnosed with breast cancer, but it's treatable'."
According to the NHS, roughly one in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their life.
Early diagnosis is crucial to survival chances, with 100 per cent of people diagnosed in its earliest stages surviving the cancer for a year or more.
That percentage falls to two thirds for those diagnosed in the latest stage of breast cancer.
Sharing her advice for Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, Ann said: "You should know your own body. If you're in the shower, check your armpits, have a good feel.
“If anything doesn't feel right, or you're even slightly concerned, just get some professional advice on it."
The mum is due to undergo 20 weeks of chemotherapy, which began days after her 49th birthday at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.
She will also require surgery and radiotherapy.
Ann said: "This wasn't really how I planned on my last year in my 40s being. I had no control."
But the mum is determined to keep her spirits high and not allow the cancer to take control.
She added: “The first thing I did was I went and got my hair cut short. It was the one thing I could hold onto as my own, you know, 'new hair, new me'.
“If I'm going to lose my hair, it won't look as noticeable if it's gone short. It's just that element of control."
Despite the chemotherapy leaving her tired and struggling to sleep, thinking about the future is helping Ann stay positive.
She said: "My daughter started a masters degree this week, so we've got a year before another big graduation.
"I've got a great niece on the way in November - I'm really excited about meeting this little one.
"I'm back in my home city for the first time in nearly 30 years. I've got lots of catching up to do, but I'm going to make a difference with my future.
“It's really changed me fundamentally because you only get one shot, and if you're not happy in any aspect of your life, do something about it.”
