When mum-of-two Jo Kerfoot noticed she had nipple discharge, she just put it down to breastfeeding. But there was just one problem – Jo hadn’t breastfed for years. She also had an unusual patch of skin on her left breast and felt tired constantly.
It wasn't until she saw an episode of ITV's Lorraine, where breast cancer symptoms were being discussed, that she decided to get the strange symptoms checked out.
Unfortunately, it was cancer. And even though spin class instructor Jo had a mastectomy, it returned just a year later.
READ MORE: 'I thought I'd pulled a muscle lifting weights in the gym... it turned out to be an awful diagnosis'
"When you're diagnosed with cancer, it takes over and it's all you think about and it's all people think when they see you," the 47-year-old, from Stockport, said.
"You hear all the time, 'don't let it define you', and sometimes it's hard not to in a way. But the more I do, to raise awareness, the more I do to be involved and do some good, the more I feel in control.”
Jo's symptoms began in lockdown of 2020, but she never thought for a second that it would lead to the devastating diagnosis. She'd had pea-sized lumps and cysts checked the year before, but this was different.
As a spin instructor, she lived an active and healthy lifestyle. But she started complaining of being tired and her GP confirmed she was anaemic and prescribed iron tablets.
But the exhaustion continued. She became breathless in her own classes and wanted to sleep all of the time.
Once out on a family bike ride, she remembers feeling as though her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Then she noticed a patch of skin on her breast had become pigmented.
Although she stopped breastfeeding her daughter, now eight, when she was 41, even three years later when she squeezed her nipple, a cream discharge would appear.
"I remember mentioning it to a doctor friend and saying this to her and that sometimes I get pain in the breast, and she said sometimes if the baby is still close to you, or if there is skin-on-skin contact, it can happen - and I just thought that is what it was, nothing concerning," Jo, who also has a 12-year-old son, explained.
By the October, she became more aware of the signs of breast cancer. She was watching an episode of ITV's Lorraine where they spoke about nipple discharge, among other symptoms, and Jo came to realise that she had a checklist of the symptoms listed.
She managed to see her GP right away and was put on the two-week pathway to a breast clinic.
"Breast cancer had never come to my head with all of these changes and I wasn't worried," Jo recalled. "Even the consultant said they couldn't see obvious signs and said nothing was ringing alarm bells.
“I’ll never forget that sentence for the rest of my life. He said 'there are no obvious signs but we'll put you through the system'."
Jo had a mammogram and an ultrasound, and the results the following month showed she had borderline stage 2/3 breast cancer.
Experts determined that Jo needed a mastectomy - surgery to remove her breast - and hormone therapy but that Jo didn't need chemotherapy.
"It really worried me at that point that I wasn't having further treatment. I kept thinking 'is that enough to protect me?' I was really worried at that point," Jo added.
"The consultant had said my cancer had been growing for a few years. Many women get breast cancer during pregnancy or breastfeeding. It's unbelievable that it can happen. The best advice is to breastfeed if you can, and I felt fortunate that I was able to do it with both of my children.
"I was healthy and active, I thought I was doing everything right. But you can't take anything for granted."
After the mastectomy, Jo had a breast implant fitted. But the following year, she noticed a new hard lump where the original tumour had been.
She mentioned it to her physio, who she was receiving treatment from for shoulder pain, who said it might have been an internal stitch.
But it began growing, Jo was back to feeling exhausted, and she started to lose weight, The Mirror reports.
Jo told her nurse and they arranged an appointment, but it was seven weeks before she could be seen.
It transpired that the cancer had returned and Jo underwent another operation, losing her implant in the process.
"That wait was the longest wait ever," Jo said. In that period I contacted them saying I’m really worried, I hadn't heard anything, no letters. I'm getting worried, losing more weight, and I finally got in.
"I didn't care about the implant, I wanted them to do everything they could. The biggest fear with breast cancer is recurrence. Game over. Because once you've got a recurrence, it's spread to other parts of the body, but it wasn't the case. I'd been very lucky again."
Jo has since decided to take part in a Calendar Girls-inspired charity calendar, inspired by the 2003 hit film where a group of friends pose nude to raise funds for a local hospital, as her way of taking back control over her body and creating something positive from her terrifying ordeal.
Jo, who is going through radiotherapy again and is soon having a check-up to determine her progress, came across BooBee - which co-ordinates events for the charity Prevent Breast Cancer - when waiting for appointments in hospital.
She's become part of its community, following the page on Facebook and meeting up with other women who could understand her experience.
They became her support network and encouraged her to sign up to take part in the 2023 calendar. The 23 women involved are photographed at different stages of breast cancer, from those who survived it five years ago to those currently receiving treatment.
"It's a great focus and it's my mission now to raise awareness, just like the Lorraine show did for me," Jo asserted.
"I've never done anything like that before, ever. I've been through so much, so I thought this is nothing compared to doing something like that.
"I've watched the film [Calendar Girls] and it made me cry, how they put themselves out there for a good cause.
"If this is what cancer has done, I'd rather do something positive, so I can look back and think 'I got that, I lost a boob, but I did this.'"
She added: "I hope people think what a brave person they were and I hope it prompts them to check their breasts.
"It's a really fun and nice way to remind people. And one of those days in the month, you could even draw a pair of boobs to remind you to check your breasts. It's helping others, it's all I want to do."
The BooBee 2023 calendar will help raise funds for life-changing, preventative research, as £5 from every sale is donated to Manchester-based Prevent Breast Cancer. The calendar also acts as a reminder for women to check their breasts with inspiring quotes, tips on becoming more breast aware, and a helpful guide on how to check breasts.
You can purchase a calendar here.
READ NEXT:
- Robbie Williams says daughter, 10, was 'devastated' after friend's move following diagnosis
- Manchester woman, 39, who thought she just had a bad back desperate to get home from Vietnam
- 'I noticed painful twinges in my breast... now I'm taking part in a UK-first trial at the Christie Hospital'
- 'I was given less than a year to live after devastating diagnosis - but now I've got a fresh start'
- 'My daughter kept falling asleep at school... I could never have imagined the real reason'
