Thread by @AskAwayHealth

She found a breast lump. What should happen next?
Individual’s journey to diagnosis.
Welcome to day 3 of our
#BeatingBreastCancer series.
#BreastCancerAwarenessMonth 💞1/
#thread

Grace was just washing up after exercise class; planning to meet her friends for the party later that night.

As she soaped herself, her mind was busy on other things. #BeatingBreastCancer 💞
#breastcancerawarenessmonth 2/

She rubbed under her right breast and under her armpit.
As she circled the breast again, she felt something. She paused, letting the water rinse off the soap.

And pressed her breast - yes, there it was again.
3/
#BeatingBreastCancer
💞
#BreastCancerAwarenessMonth

Her heart was thumping.
As she pressed herself, trying to squeeze at the lump, a shaft of pain pierced her breast making her gasp.

She’d heard about breast cancer before.
She didn’t know how people got it ....
#BeatingBreastCancer 💞#breastcancerawarenessmonth 4/

...but she knew breast lumps were a serious matter.
What would she do? Who could she tell?
As she dressed she could feel a little ache in the beast.
After dressing, she looked the same as usual - her breasts looked fine.
5/
#BeatingBreastCancer 💞#breastcancerawarenessmonth

She was quiet all evening - her friends said.

She said it was work, a headache.
After they dropped her at her place, she sat in the dark for a while.
There was no light. It suited her mood.
What’s happening to me?
6/
#breastcancerawarenessmonth 💞
#BeatingBreastCancer

For days, Grace kept checking her breast hoping and praying ‘it’ would go away.
Her older sister noticed she was distracted a few weeks later.
Eventually she confessed.
They took it to the Lord. But the lump didn’t go away.
#BeatingBreastCancer
💞#BreastCancerAwarenessMonth 7/

It was now 9 weeks after she first felt the Lump.
They went to the clinic. (Her sister was advised by a friend to get her to see a Dr.)
She wept as the Dr confirmed there was a breast lump. ‘Why me?
I’m only 38years old.’
#BeatingBreastCancer
💞#BreastCancerAwarenessMonth
8

‘What have I done?
I don’t smoke or drink. How did I get it?’
The Dr asked about their family. About drugs.
She could hardly answer.
all she knew - all she could think was : her life was over.
She felt alone.
#BeatingBreastCancer
💞#BreastCancerAwarenessMonth
TBC

Join us tomorrow for the next part of Grace’s story.
If it’s touched you so far, please like and RT - we are sharing issues around #breastcancer all through October 💞
#BreastCancerAwarnessMonth

@threadreaderapp unroll please