A young woman shares her shocking breast cancer diagnosis story and urges others to recognize warning signs
Surrey: Steph Peacey, just 28, faced a life-altering diagnosis of triple negative breast cancer last August. It all started when she noticed her left breast felt different—hard and full, with an inverted nipple. At first, she brushed it off, thinking cancer always came with a lump.
But when she saw a cloudy discharge from her nipple, she decided to get it checked out. After an ultrasound at a specialized clinic, doctors found a deep-seated mass that was hard to detect through self-exams.
“Everyone kept saying I was too young for cancer, that it was probably just a cyst,” she recalled. But deep down, she felt something was off. Her fears were confirmed when she learned she had triple negative breast cancer and a mutated BRCA1 gene.
Steph described the moment she got the news: “When the head of the breast unit walked in, I knew something was wrong. Hearing ‘Triple Negative Breast Cancer’ felt like the ground shifted beneath me.”
Now, she’s unable to work due to her treatment, which includes six months of chemotherapy to shrink a 3cm tumor, followed by surgery and radiotherapy. The financial strain has been tough, leading her to start a GoFundMe campaign for living expenses.
Finding support online, Steph has turned to TikTok to share her journey and raise awareness. “I had no idea about breast cancer before this. I thought checking for lumps was enough. Now I tell everyone: If anything feels or looks different, go to the doctor.”
