A 35-year-old PhD student discovered a lump while applying sun cream, only to be told that she had cancer the day after coming home from her honeymoon. The student's brother faced the disease as a teenager, and doctors are baffled as to why two siblings in their thirties have both been diagnosed with cancer so young.
The pair have been told it is “a complete mystery” and genetic tests are providing no further answers. Greg Nash, now 32, needed intensive chemotherapy for Ewing Sarcoma, a rare type of cancer that affects bones or the tissue around bones, after being diagnosed at just 14.
Then Charlotte Nash-Pye, 35, found a lump in her right breast on June 23 of this year while applying sun cream at her cousin's wedding in Cyprus. The worrying discovery came just a few weeks before she was due to get married herself.
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Charlotte, from Epsom in Surrey, explained: “I was applying lotion, I wasn’t directly doing a breast check, and I felt a lump. I wasn’t sure, so I checked the other side, and it didn’t feel the same on both sides.
“That’s when I asked my mum for her opinion, and she had a jab at it, and I felt a sharp pain, and I thought ‘that’s not normal.’
“I then became quite conscious of it. I’d slightly twinge from time to time and I suddenly became hyper-aware of it.”
After advice from her worried mum, Charlotte decided to go to her GP - especially after her family's experience with Charlotte's brother. Greg had a rare form of cancer called Ewing Sarcoma, diagnosed when the siblings were growing up.
Greg said: “I noticed a lump appeared after swimming and after a week it grew quite big. The doctor diagnosed it as a cist to begin with and they removed it under general anaesthetic.
“It was only after I’d had a post-op that they found out it was malignant. It was a massive shock because they hadn’t even diagnosed it.
“[The doctors] were just like, ‘It’s so big so we’re going to remove it’ and we thought that was it done with. But it was just the start. That put everyone into shock, especially at my age.
“Luckily it was bone marrow tissue that wasn’t broken off in the bone, so they got it out and it was encapsulated in a membrane.”
“I always try to be there for Charlotte, having gone through this journey myself, and weirdly, it feels like I’m reliving it through her in a way.”
The siblings were used to pulling each other through difficult times. Charlotte said: “Because my parents worked full time, I was often the one who would take him to an appointment, especially after the initial diagnosis when it became more ongoing with regular check-ups.”
Charlotte learned how to drive just three months after her 17th birthday so she could be even more available for her brother.
“I was extremely busy because my cousin’s wedding in Cyprus was only six weeks before my own wedding in the UK," said Charlotte, of her own diagnosis.
“I realised that it was very important to get my breast checked within a week of getting home from holiday. Thankfully, my doctor was very good, very professional and said, ‘I cannot be sure that this is nothing to worry about. So, I am going to recommend you to The Marsden’.”
After being referred to the Royal Marsden, a specialist cancer hospital in Sutton, for an ultrasound, an abnormality came to light.
Charlotte explained: “The doctor’s reaction very much changed when she was doing the ultrasound. Charlotte and her brother have had genetic testing and have been negative on all points related to breast cancer.
“There was clearly something that didn’t look right because she was very quiet”, said Charlotte. "She then told me I needed to stay for a biopsy because it looks irregular.
"I am quite a pragmatic person, so I have the point of view that there’s no point worrying until we know what we’re dealing with.
“I needed to focus on getting things done next week for the wedding and I had quite a few deadlines for my PhD immediately after.”
Just a few weeks later, on August 1, she had a biopsy, just five days before her wedding day. She said: “I started to try and come to terms with the idea that it might be something of major concern. But, again, not let myself go down that rabbit hole.
“I tried not to let my imagination run wild at that point.”
Marrying her husband Jack at Hampton Court Palace in front of 50 guests, Charlotte put her breast lump to the back of her mind. She explained: “I didn’t allow it to ruin anything at all because there was no point and we’d already waited two years for the day because of Covid, and we’ve been together for 10 years.
“My mum was fine to be honest because we tried not to talk about it after the biopsy. I did tell my best friend, my maid of honour, the night before and she was quite emotional.”
The day after returning from her week-long honeymoon on August 15, Charlotte had her diagnosis. Her full diagnosis was a stage one, grade two invasive ductal carcinoma with no evidence of abnormality in the lymph glands.
She explained: “The tumour was oestrogen and progesterone receptor positive but HER2 negative, which is why it thankfully can be treated with hormone treatment as well as radiotherapy. This is very good news from a cancer point of view, but it does have negative implications on fertility.
“My brother’s experience definitely prepared me for the idea that you’re never too young to get cancer and it’s not always a genetic thing.
"It does seem to be a complete freak occurrence that both Greg and I at a very young age have had two forms of cancer.”
In the same week as her diagnosis, Charlotte began to freeze embryos and was referred for an MRI scan and mammogram. On September 2, two days after her diagnosis, she began IVF harvesting as her diagnosis was treatable with hormones and could help extend her life, but she would not be able to get pregnant.
She said: “Our initial round of IVF wasn’t as successful as we had hoped. Normally, they would start you at the most optimum part of your cycle, but because they needed to get the IVF stuff done before the surgery, the surgeons and I were very keen on going forward with it.”
Just three weeks after the first round of IVF, Charlotte had the tumour removed.
She said: “This may now affect my chances of starting a family but at least I do have a chance in the future with fertility preservation.”
“I am lucky that cancer treatment has developed so much that I can be treated and this diagnosis doesn’t need to ruin my life," said Charlotte.
Greg said: “When she first found out and opened up to me fully, she was distraught. She was in tears initially but she bounces back very well. But, afterwards, she’s always been very strong and I think perspective is important, which Charlotte has.”
Charlotte is continuing her IVF journey and is working with her brother Greg on a podcast called ‘The Cancer Twins’ about what it’s like to go through cancer at such a young age. The pair invite guests to talk about their cancer journey to help others.
Across October, which marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Charlotte and Greg have been walking 100 miles to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
Charlotte is supporting Stand Up To Cancer, a joint fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4 bringing the UK together to accelerate life-saving cancer research – to find out more, visit SU2C.org.uk
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