‘I Discovered I Had Breast Cancer During Lockdown'

Following the devastating news that Sarah Harding has breast cancer, Charmian Harris, 46, a journalist from Bexleyheath, Kent, shares her own harrowing story Sarah is battling

- Charmian Harris

I’ve always checked my breasts every now and again and while they are usually quite lumpy, back in February I felt quite a hard bump that didn’t move. I was concerned, but at that point I didn’t panic, I just kept checking each day in the hope it would disappear on its own.

A week later, when it was obvious the lump wasn’t going anywhere, I booked an appointment with my GP. She was quite relaxed and thought it could be hormone related as it was likely that I was perimenopausal. She suggested I leave it until after my next period to see if it went away. If it didn’t, she would refer me for some tests.

The weeks ticked by and the lump – a small, hard nodule right at the bottom of my left breast – didn’t budge. But by that point we were in full lockdown and the NHS had become the front line of a global pandemic so, I’m a little embarrassed to admit, I left it.

I certainly wasn’t alone. An NHS survey at the height of the crisis found that one in 10 people said they would not contact their GP about a lump or a new mole, and a third worried about seeking help. Leading cancer doctor Professor Peter Johnson began urging people not to delay seeking help.

But another whole period cycle went by and it was late April before I finally spoke to my GP again, who instantly referred me to be checked out.

My appointment came through within days, but because I was quite blasé – there was no way I was going to have cancer – I went along on my own. A consultant felt the lump and I was ushered off for a mammogram, ultrasound and biopsies. Suddenly, I started to wonder if perhaps this was more serious than I’d assumed. But by that point there was nothing I could do apart from wait for my results.