Hey Touchy-Feely, firstly I just want to say thank you so much for creating a platform like this! I’m a 29 year old black woman and have been diagnosed with Stage 1, Type 2 Breast Cancer (Estrogen+Progesterone positive) in July 2024. In the the same week I also found out I’m pregnant.
Two things I never expected or saw coming. I’ll be honest, prior to finding about this diagnosis, I was already very conscious of my left breast as I had found a painless lump on that side over 12 months ago but yet only went to get this checked out July this year (I know this is a very long time to wait). Funny enough it was actually Love Island ‘Unseen Bits’ that led me to get this checked properly as there was a scene on the girls spreading awareness on breast cancer (Which I’m super grateful for!) I guess you can say I was in complete denial and/or scared? I knew it was something I needed to get checked out but I never thought it could ever be cancer.
The lump I had wasn’t very obvious and was closer to my collar bone than it was to my breast. I had no knowledge of breast cancer being a thing for young black women like myself, especially because nobody in my family has ever been diagnosed with cancer. I made my surgeon and oncologist aware that I’m pregnant which of course threw a complete spanner to my treatment plan. I was told this would delay things and was advised to wait until after 12 weeks of the pregnancy to proceed with the surgery for the lumpectomy due to high chances of miscarriage.
Regardless of this, I still decided I wanted the tumour removing as soon as possible and had a successful lumpectomy surgery alongside lymph nodes removal 6 weeks into my pregnancy. I also had to wait for results to check if the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes. Thankfully the results came back to confirm that the cancer hasn’t spread to the lymph nodes and I also had confirmation from the surgeon that I am now ‘cancer free’. Fast forward, I was still advised that chemo may be beneficial for me. Accepting doing chemo whilst pregnant was a very challenging decision for me but I knew I had to do this.
I am currently undergoing chemo treatment for a preventative cause and I’m taking each day as it comes. I’m really looking forward to getting to the other side of this. Some days are more difficult than others but i know I can do it, especially with God on my side. The biggest learn I’ve taken from this is to be more aware of my body and to have more urgency to get anything unusual on my body checked out as soon as possible. Early detection of cancer saves lives and has a much higher chance of being cured!
Recent update from Trudie (Sept, 2025)
Hey touchy-feely, I just thought I’d give you a quick update. I am SO happy to confirm that i have now successfully completed 6 rounds of chemotherapy, 19 sessions of radiotherapy and my beautiful daughter is now 7 months and is doing so well!!
Though I am still on further preventative treatment – hormone therapy and monthly injections for the next 5-10 years. I can never complain. I am cancer free, have a healthy daughter and have every reason to remain grateful!!
