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Linda was 28-weeks pregnant with her second son when she noticed a small lump in her breast.

Dismissed as a blocked milk duct, Linda’s cancer grew silently below the surface until a blood clot was discovered in her breastmilk while breastfeeding her newborn son.

“It was 2021 and life was good. I was working full time, was part way through my doctoral studies in business leadership and enjoying a routine and blissful pregnancy," Linda said.

“At home one morning I noticed what felt like a tictac sized lump in my right breast. It seemed innocuous at first, nothing more than a blip in my otherwise normal pregnancy. For the next five months I was reassured by midwives and hospital doctors that the lump was just a blockage in my milk duct. I was only 36 and trusted my health care professionals who were not concerned.

Little did I know, this small, seemingly insignificant lump was an aggressive cancer and would become the epicentre of my life, and my family’s lives, for years to come.Linda

“When my little boy was just four weeks old, I foundÌýa blood clot in his mouth after feeding that had comeÌýfrom my breastmilk. That’s when the unravelling began. IÌýtook my son to my regular GP for his six-week check-upÌýand mentioned the lump for one last time. My doctor wasÌýshocked the lump had been dismissed for so long andÌýimmediately booked me for an ultrasound and biopsy. MyÌýGP saved my life that day.

"A 5cm spider-like cancer hadÌýgrown in my right breast and I was diagnosed with StageÌý2, HER2+ breast cancer. Further testing revealed I carriedÌýa BRCA1 gene mutation despite having no family history.

"Chemo quickly commenced, ushering in a whirlwindÌýof physical torment. My hair fell out, my fingernails fell offÌýand after six relentless months of treatment, the chemoÌýdidn’t kill the cancer. If anything, it had mutated intoÌýtriple negative. Then, following my double mastectomy,ÌýI commenced a further 12 months of an immunotherapyÌý/chemotherapy drug, a beacon of hope that has onlyÌýbeen available in more recent years through advancedÌýresearch. Unfortunately the side effects left me with heartÌýproblems, a pulmonary embolism and osteoarthritis – aÌýreminder etched into my bones along with a lifetime ofÌýmedications.

During this whole experience, holding my baby– once a simple act of love – became difficult.Linda

"My youngest, born into aÌýworld of chaos, has never seen his mother with hair andÌýmy eldest has had to grow up so fast. I was also plaguedÌýwith fears of whether I would see my newborn babyÌýcelebrate his first birthday or my kids start school.

“Because I have the BRCA 1 gene mutation, I nowÌýhave a more than 45% chance of developing ovarianÌýcancer. Sometimes I feel like a ticking time bomb, andÌýI know that one way or another, once my treatment isÌýfinished, I will need to have my ovaries removed as aÌýpreventative measure.

“During the isolation and sadness of those agonisingÌýearly months of treatment I founded the BEAT MovementÌý(Breast cancer Education Awareness and Training) asÌýa way of raising awareness of the prevalence of youngÌýwomen with breast cancer.

It is devastating. I plea for research, and for a future where no woman faces a darkness like this. We are literally dying while we wait for new research and treatments.Linda