Jo Kerfoot noticed she had discharge from her nipple but thought it was just because of breastfeeding. Despite being a spin instructor, she was also becoming tired all the time, and was barely able to keep up with her own classes. Plus she hadn't breast-fed for years and also had an unusual patch of skin on her left breast.
So when she saw an episode of ITV's Lorraine which involved talking about the symptoms of breast cancer she decided to get the concerns checked . Unfortunately for Jo, it was cancer and despite having a mastectomy the spin class instructor saw it return just a year later.
"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 told the Mirror.
"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. And although she stopped breastfeeding her daughter, now eight, six years earlier 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?'" 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 said it might have been an internal stitch. But it began growing, Jo was back to feeling exhausted, and she started to lose weight. Jo told her nurse and they arranged an appointment. 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 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."
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