I put on my armour and went into battle

 Fiona, 39, was daydreaming about the happy family she was building, when she noticed a change in her breasts... 

At 30 weeks pregnant with my second child, I was daydreaming about the happy family Douglas, 38, and I were building. It was July 2015 and Olivia was four. Soon she’d be joined by her little sister and it was the happiest of times. 

At a midwife appointment I mentioned to a nurse that my nipple was aching. I had every intention of monitoring changes, but then my dad Harry, 75, passed away after suffering a heart attack. I was too frightened to let myself cry the tears I wanted to cry, in case it did any damage to the baby. 

Six weeks later, Aila arrived. She was what our family needed to bring joy back to our lives.

For the first few days of her life, I got on okay with breastfeeding but on my right side, she wouldn’t latch on. 

At Aila’s six week check, I mentioned my concerns again. The GP was reassuring. ‘I’ll send you to the breast clinic for an ultrasound and mammogram, but it’s nothing sinister and there’s nothing to worry about,’ she said. 

After an ultrasound at the breast clinic I went back to the same hospital Aila was born, for the results.  ‘We’ve got some not great news,’ the consultant said. ‘It could well be cancer.’

With those words, the world stopped spinning. I looked over at Aila curled up in Douglas’s lap and I could not believe what was happening. Aila was just a few weeks old. This was not part of the plan. Everything was supposed to be perfect. 

Further tests confirmed an aggressive tumour had been found in my breast. A doctor explained that it wasn’t necessarily that the pregnancy caused the cancer, but that my cancer would have fed off the increased levels of oestrogen during the pregnancy. 

I would need a year of treatment, consisting of chemotherapy, a mastectomy, reconstructive surgery and radiotherapy. It was going to be a horrible year, but it was only one year. If I could beat cancer, I’d have many more years of my life to enjoy. 

I had a secret weapon. Two, in fact. The girls reminded me I had to put my armour on and go into battle. I didn’t want to be a cancer patient, I wanted to be a mum, so I made sure I was always a mum first. 

Whenever a negative thought popped into my head, I’d remind myself of my mantra. When you’re walking through hell, you don’t stop walking. 

In June 2016, treatment finished and although I have to wait ten years to get the all-clear, I feel fantastic. 

I find joy in the mundanity of life, thanks to cancer. It made its mark on me and I don’t think I’ll ever stop appreciating the life I fought for. No-one ever imagines cancer will come for them during such a happy time of life, but cancer does not discriminate. It does not time its appearance around your plans. I want women to know it’s so important they are breast aware, especially while pregnant and breast-feeding. And if it does come for you remember, when you’re walking through hell, don’t stop walking.