06/11/2025
“Am I going to die?” was the first question that Jessica Beck asked the medical team after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016.
She said: “My children were aged nine and four years at the time. Being so young, I felt that I was alone, as we always associate breast cancer with women over 50.”
According to a study, most women are unaware of breast cancer symptoms beyond a lump, with less awareness of other signs such as ni**le discharge, skin thickening and changes in breast size or shape.
This was the same problem faced by Jessica, as she was unaware of the other symptoms of breast cancer.
As part of her treatment, she underwent intense chemotherapy for six months, mastectomy, a surgical procedure to remove her left breast and the cancerous lymph nodes in her breast, and then three weeks of radiotherapy, which was followed by her ovaries being removed – as a precaution due to the extent of her cancer.
The treatment did not end here as she had her breast removed and had to undergo a double breast reconstruction in 2017.
She said: “The initial fallout of such a diagnosis and gruelling treatment regimens can turn your world upside down, but I had a good support network with family, friends and the breast team."
Read her inspirational journey and how she is urging men and women to have their symptoms checked: https://www.southtees.nhs.uk/news/am-i-going-to-die-nurse-urges-women-to-get-checked-after-breast-cancer-diagnosis/
