Having cancer saved my family

For April Bunce, 31, the diagnosis was unthinkable, but the devastating news had some other life-changing implications

- FIONA DUFFY

Back in May 2015, I was taking a shower when I discovered a strawberry-sized lump in my left breast. I’d found lumps before that turned out to be blocked sweat glands, but this felt different.

The thought of having breast cancer at the age of 26 was unthinkable, and the diagnosis a month later, in June 2015, left me reeling. I just remember firing questions at the specialists, like, ‘Am I going to die?’ and ‘Will I lose my hair?’

The cancer had spread to my lymph nodes, meaning it was already staged 3. I’d need chemotherapy to shrink the tumour, then surgery, before finishing with an intense blast of radiotherapy to make sure the cancer was gone. ‘Everything will be fine,’ I assured my family cheerfully when I broke the news – but, deep down, I was terrified.

Under the knife