Adobea sought medical help 4 times before her breast cancer was detected. By then, it had already become secondary. She tells us how factors like age and race can have an impact on how patients are treated.
My GP told me there was nothing to worry about and sent me on my merry way
Adobea was in her late 20s when she first found a grape-sized lump in her breast. Despite not being particularly worried about it, she went to her GP. Unfortunately, she was told it was probably nothing and was sent away. This happened twice more. When Adobea finally insisted on a scan, it was discovered that she had secondary breast cancer.
Because of her age, she was not seen as being high risk, but her race is likely to have had an impact on her experience.
In this episode of The Breast Cancer Now Podcast, Adobea tells us about the difficulty she experienced in trying to find out what breast cancer looks like on darker skin; the false idea that black people have a higher pain tolerance. And why it’s so important to keep having these conversations.
If the GP had seen what breast cancer symptoms look like on darker skin... perhaps he may have been able to pick up on it sooner.
Adobea
Everyone’s experience is unique to them. This podcast contains the personal story and experience of the speaker, rather than that of Breast Cancer Now.
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