Fighting For All Women

Diagnosed with breast cancer aged 36, Jessica Parsons is raising awareness of the disease in younger women

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While most women in the UK are aware of the telltale signs of breast cancer, thanks to cancer charities working tirelessly to raise awareness of what to look out for, the disease is still largely associated with more mature women. It's with good reason, as eight out of 10 women in the UK diagnosed with breast cancer are over the age of 50.

However, lack of awareness of the possibility of having breast cancer at a younger age is doing young women across the country a disservice. Breast cancer is now one of the most common cancers in women under 40.

W Jessica Parsons from Bath was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, aged 36. She noticed a lump on her breast while feeding her then six-month-old daughter.

"I just thought it might be a blocked milk duct, which happens regularly, so I wasn't shocked - I thought it would probably go away.

"And then after a couple of days, nothing changed. It was still the exact same hard lump. And I knew then that there was something not quite right. But I didn't think 'Oh, I've got cancer', I wasn't losing too much sleep over it," Jessica said.

Being in her 30s and leading a healthy lifestyle, Jessica was not concerned when she went to see her GP and was referred to a breast clinic. However, within three weeks, she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

"I was just shell-shocked by the whole thing. They told me that the type of cancer that I had was very uncommon.