'I checked my body after reading my friend's book about breast cancer... weeks later I was given the same diagnosis'
31.01.2022 - 09:41
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A woman who checked her body after reading a friend's book about breast cancer was given the same diagnosis just weeks later.
Jade Hills, 31, had never examined herself until finishing her pal's book about her journey with the illness.
She had just qualified as a nurse, but never thought she would be affected by cancer at such a young age.
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But after checking her breasts that night, to her shock, Jade discovered two noticeable lumps.
Just a few weeks later, she was given the devastating news that she has triple negative breast cancer, and will most likely need to have chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
She and her boyfriend, who live in Monton, in Salford, have now also had to put their hopes of starting a family on hold.
Jade now wants to raise awareness of the importance of checking your body for lumps and abnormalities, and says her friend's book probably saved her life.
"I was reaching the end of the book and I realised I had never really checked my breasts," she said, speaking to the M.E.N.
"I decided to check and when I did I found two lumps. One was quite soft but the other was really hard.
"I went to bed but in the morning I was worried sick so I phoned my mum and she managed to arrange a doctor's appointment for me the following day."
Jade visited her GP and was immediately referred to the Nightingale breast clinic at Wythenshawe Hospital.
She received a cancellation appointment a week later and attended the clinic on November 12 last year.
"I went to see the consultant and he told me he didn't think it was going to be cancer but he booked me in for a scan anyway just in case," she said.
"Two weeks later I found out that I have