GET THAT CHECKED

Women should now get regular mammograms from the age of 40 – here’s why it’s important

- KESHIA AFRICA

HE never imagined that the small change in the appearance of her breast would lead to a breast cancer diagnosis. Not at the age of 29.

Even though there’s a history of cancer in her family – her grandmother and an aunt on her dad’s side – Lauren Harmse wasn’t too worried. But it was odd that her nipple looked like it was inverting, so she went to her doctor to get it checked out and was immediately referred to a breast clinic for further testing.

After a mammogram, biopsy and ultrasound the results came in – it was stage two breast cancer. 

“It was a huge shock – and the last thing I expected at 29 years old,” says Lauren (36), who at the time had been planning to start a family with her husband, Johan, when her cancer diagnosis threw a spanner in the works.

“It was so scary.” The tumour in her breast already measured 5cm across, and the cancer was considered aggressive. That was in January 2016, and thanks to the early detection and the course of treatment decided on by her doctors, Lauren was in remission by the end of that year.

Today, she and Johan are parents to a three-year-old son, Luke. She’s incredibly grateful her cancer went into full remission and pays it forward by being a Reach for Recovery volunteer, supporting other young women who’ve been diagnosed with cancer – and there are plenty of them.

The new recommendation that women start having mammograms from the age of 40 instead of 50 can only be a good thing, Lauren says.