'Doctors told me I had blocked duct - true diagnosis left me numb'

A new mum who discovered a lump in her breast while breastfeeding was initially told it was a blocked milk duct, only to later find out she had breast cancer. Barbara Jeffery, 34, had just welcomed her daughter Canada-Rose, now three, when she noticed a lump in her left breast during breastfeeding.

She sought advice from her GP and was referred to a breast clinic, where she was informed it was mastitis - a common breastfeeding complication where a blocked duct becomes inflamed. However, as the lump grew and became painful, Barbara returned to her GP and was subsequently told by a breast clinic that she had a milk cyst, a cyst filled with blocked breast milk, which was then drained.

The lump reappeared twice more and each time Barbara had it drained again. When it came back for the third time in October 2022, doctors observed blood in the drained fluid.

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Following an ultrasound, mammogram and further tests, Barbara received the shocking diagnosis - grade 3 triple negative breast cancer. She has since undergone numerous rounds of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, including a double mastectomy.

However, she was dealt a further blow when doctors discovered her cancer had spread to her brain, finding 13 tumours. Now, Barbara is focusing on prolonging her life to spend as much precious time as possible with her two children.

Barbara, a former personal trainer from Wimborne, Dorset, said: "I spotted a lump in my breast while breastfeeding and was sent by my GP to a breast clinic, who told me it was a blocked milk duct. They said it wasn't anything to be worried about, it wasn't dangerous. After returning to my GP and a further urgent referral, I returned back to the breast clinic, who gave me open access to contact them in case it came back and needed to be drained again."

Barbara first detected a lump in July 2022 - when her daughter was merely seven weeks old. Initially, she was informed it was just a blocked milk duct, but she revisited her GP when the lump enlarged.

She said: "I had a lump the size of a golf ball and it was growing and becoming more and more painful." She was then diagnosed with a milk cyst and had it drained four times before further testing was conducted.

Barbara explained: "On the first three occasions that they drained the fluid, they didn't biopsy the content. Had they biopsied the content, we would have been in a very different position."

The fourth time Barbara went to have a cyst drained, there was blood in the fluid and she underwent an ultrasound and mammogram. In November 2022, Barbara was diagnosed with grade 3 triple negative breast cancer - the most aggressive type.

She said: "When they told me I had Canada-Rose on my lap. My husband Craig had stepped outside with our son, Hudson, who is autistic and was feeling dysregulated.

"I shouted through to him, 'Craig, I've got cancer,' and he phoned my sister in London. I just felt numb. I remember telling people and counselling them, saying it's going to be OK and I'm fine. By reassuring other people that I was going to be OK, I think I was reassuring myself."

Barbara was informed she had two tumours in her left breast, which had also spread to the lymph nodes in her armpit and the mammary chain down the centre of her sternum, and were heading towards her right breast. She started multiple rounds of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, including a double mastectomy.

Barbara said: "They told me I could have the tumour breast removed or they could do both. At this point I was aware I have young children - what are they going to think if mummy's got one boob? I wasn't worried about the social stigma - this was solely based around the children."

During Barbara's radiotherapy in June 2024, Craig noticed that she was beginning to show neurological symptoms, including losing her balance and becoming forgetful. Barbara said: "On the evening my daughter's first birthday, I said to Craig when we got to bed, 'What happened today?' I didn't remember any of it. That night we contacted my consultant, who's phenomenal.

"She put me through for a brain MRI, which found three tumours. I was 33 years old with a one-year-old and a three-year-old, being told I had stage 4 cancer and six to nine months to live."

Further scans showed she had an additional ten brain tumours. Barbara was removed from chemotherapy to preserve her strength for brain radiotherapy, which commenced in July 2023.

She explained: "I'm stable now, but I'm under no illusion that it won't come back. It's like antibiotics – my body will get used to Olaparib, a chemotherapy drug which stops the cancer from growing and it will become ineffective. I may need to go back for chemo or radiotherapy, or it may be that they can't do anything more. We're very aware that this is going to be life-limiting."

Canada-Rose is now three years old and Hudson is four. Barbara is acutely conscious of how her diagnosis affects her children.

She said: "Routine is really important for Hudson because of his autism, so it's been really challenging for him to have that disrupted. When I lost my hair he was devastated. He used it as a regulation tool and it was how he'd go to sleep – by twizzling my hair. When I lost my hair during the chemo he was beside himself.

"I had to stop breastfeeding Canada-Rose. But I still smelled like milk, which meant that I couldn't go near her.

"I have a little girl who I wasn't able to bond with until she was 18 months old. That was when she first came to me as mummy. Before that she wouldn't come near me. I was a stranger to her because all through the chemo and the surgery and everything I wasn't around.

"So she was like, 'who's this person who pops up in the house now and then? She's never here, she doesn't look after me'. I've got a beautiful relationship with her now. But at the time, I really felt like I'd failed them."

Barbara believes there should be increased funding for cancer treatment alongside greater awareness about the risks of cancer whilst pregnant. She explained: "The waiting times are killing people. They can't get enough people through treatment – they don't have the capacity to treat people in time to manage symptoms or save life.

"Postmenopausal women get yearly mammograms, but the hormonal changes during pregnancy are very similar to the menopause. My one message to everyone who's pregnant is to know your normal, and if your doctor says you have mastitis, just keep an eye on it."

A GoFundMe page has been established to assist with covering Barbara's cancer-related expenses.