Annabel Chown, 54, said she was just 31 when she discovered a lump after attending a party in London
A yoga instructor who has battled cancer multiple times first suspected she might have the deadly disease after touching her necklace. Annabel Chown, 54, was just 31 when she found a lump after attending a party in an upscale London neighbourhood.
Despite an initial biopsy suggesting the lump was benign, further surgery revealed that she indeed had cancer and needed chemotherapy. In The Times, Annabel recounted the night she discovered the first signs of cancer.
She said: “I’d found a lump in the early hours of a Sunday morning while getting undressed after a party at a bar in Fitzrovia. A couple of the gold sequins on the neckline of my low-cut top were loose. When I touched them, I also felt an area of skin as hard as ice, a few centimetres above my left nipple.”
Fearing it was cancer, Annabel promptly booked a GP appointment before being referred to a consultant oncologist. A needle biopsy then confirmed cancerous cells in her breast, leading to her undergoing a “lumpectomy” – a surgical procedure to remove a breast tumour, reports Bristol Live.
Sadly, this wouldn’t be the last time Annabel would face cancer, as she later found out she carried the BRCA mutation like her father. Consequently, she put herself on the waiting list to have her breasts removed and underwent the procedure in 2016.
In addition, after her son’s birth, she decided to have her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed, explaining that “the last thing I wanted was to risk him being left without a mother”. Annabel’s story highlights the need for awareness about breast cancer as the World Health Organisation warned of a potential surge in deaths worldwide, predicting a 21% increase in cases and a 42% rise in deaths in the UK, as reported in the Nature Medicine journal.
Dr Isabelle Soerjomataram, deputy head of the cancer surveillance branch at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, emphasised the importance of early diagnosis and accessible treatment to address the global disparity in breast cancer, stating: “Continued progress in early diagnosis and improved access to treatment are essential to address the global gap in breast cancer and ensure that the goal of reducing suffering and death from breast cancer is achieved by all countries worldwide.”
Recognising the symptoms of breast cancer
Breast cancer is a prevalent cancer in the UK, with the NHS listing the following symptoms:
- A lump or swelling in the breast, chest, or armpit
- A change in the shape or look of the nipple
- Pain the breast or armpit that does not go away
- Nipple discharge
- A change in the size or shape of one or both breasts
- A change in the skin of the breast e.g., dimpling
Checking your breasts regularly is crucial to understanding what’s normal for you, making it easier to spot any changes in size, appearance, or sensation, the NHS advises.
