I gently eased the dressing away from my skin and, taking a shaky breath, looked down.

As I saw the large scar across my breast, tears stung my eyes.

It was hard to see the physical mark that cancer had left on my body.

When I’d first discovered the lump in my right breast, I thought, as a student nurse, that it felt like a cyst and ignored it for 10 weeks.

It was only because my now-husband, Simon, persuaded me, that I went to see my GP. He agreed with me – at 28, it was unlikely to be anything serious.

But he sent me to the breast referral unit for further tests to be sure. I’m so glad he did because when I was called back for the results, I was told to bring someone with me.

As we were in the midst of Covid and lockdowns, I knew it wasn’t going to be good news.

And it wasn’t. I had early-stage breast cancer.

Source: Diagnosed with breast cancer at 28, I’ve had to learn to love my body again