Fall led to life saving screening

Lynne Hill, 59, a volunteer at the Living Well Information and Support Service, in Balby, Doncaster, was sent for a mammogram after falling down and suffering pain in her left breast.

The test showed bruising, but also picked up cancer in her right breast.

Now, as the country gears up for Wear it Pink day on October 21, to raise awareness and money for the fight against cancer, Lynne is urging all women invited for mammograms to take up the offer.

Lynne, a mum of two and grandma to four, lost her mum and two sisters to cancer and says the mammogram saved her life.

“The mammogram showed a tumour in the breast which I had not been able to feel,” explained Lynne. “I had a lumpectomy – which is removal of the tumour - followed by 15 fractions or daily treatments of radiotherapy and had lymph nodes removed too. Basically, the mammogram saved my life.

“If I’d not fallen, I wouldn’t have had the mammogram, so falling down and hurting myself was life saving for me,” she added.

“My plea to other women is when you receive your mammogram appointment, take the opportunity to go for the test. Some breast cancers are not detectable without a mammogram and you may not feel a lump even if you self-examine. Some women don’t realise how important mammograms are.”

Lynne now goes out into the community with staff from the Living Well Information Service, which is run by Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH), to encourage women to be breast aware.

“I’ve had women say ‘my husband would find a lump, so I don’t need a mammogram’” she said. “I explain that no-one could see or feel mine – only the mammogram as it was so deep. So please, attend your appointment when you are invited.”

Joanne O’Marr, from the Living Well Information Service, based at Balby, Doncaster, said: “Our Living Well Information and Support Service exists to empower and support the people of Doncaster, by providing quality information and support about cancer.

“Lynne is fantastic to work with. She can really get the message home to women that they need to be breast aware. Being breast aware and having mammograms, as Lynne proves, can save your life.”

Anyone wanting information about the Living Well Information and Support Service should visit: www.rdash.nhs.uk

Every year, wear it pink raises around £2 million during Breast Cancer Awareness Month for the UK’s largest breast cancer charity, Breast Cancer Now. For more information visit wearitpink.org