POSITIVE THOUGHTS: 'I'M NOT GOING TO DIE. I'VE GOT A LIFE. I AM NEEDED'

SARAH BEENY ON HER BATTLE WITH THE CANCER THAT KILLED HER MOTHER

- JEN PHARO

Her mum died of breast cancer aged just 39, when she was 10 years old, so learning she had developed the same disease was terrifying for mum-of-four Sarah Beeny.

In August last year, Sarah found a lump and was diagnosed with breast cancer aged 50. Hearing the news was heartbreaking, but when doctors said her condition was treatable, she focused hard on recovering and staying strong for her children and husband.

“After I was told, it was really bad,” shares Sarah. “But it got better because then you realise you’re not going to die.”

Sarah was already booked in for a routine mammogram when she found a lump in her breast, but she was wrongly reassured by medics that everything was fine. Four months later, the lump was still there and Sarah’s husband Graham Swift urged Sarah to seek a second opinion.

“I phoned the GP this time,” says Sarah. “They just said, ‘Go straight to a breast cancer unit.’ At the breast cancer unit they do a mammogram, ultrasound and a biopsy all in one go. It’s amazing.”

Sarah asked them to text her the results but the clinicians insisted she return to receive them in person.

“I sort of knew I had cancer when I left there,” says Sarah. “My message to anyone would be if you’ve got a lump, just keep on checking.”

“In a funny way, Sarah had been expecting this to happen ever since I’ve known her,” says Graham, who has been married to Sarah since 2002.