A 21-year-old woman recently revealed that she was forced to undergo mastectomy two years ago after a wrong diagnosis of breast infection by her doctor turned out to be breast cancer.
Middlesbrough resident Morag McTiernan was only 17 years old when she started to feel pains in her breast. She went to a GP who later diagnosed her with milk duct infection. However, after two years since the initial diagnosis, she continued to feel the pain, and it became worse she had to quit dancing. Opting for a second opinion, she went to another doctor who told her it may be nothing but recommended to undergo a breast cancer screening test. A few days after, the test came back positive.
Initially, she was supposed to go through a lumpectomy in Newcastle's Royal Victoria Hospital. Upon further examination, her doctors told her the tumor had already grown bigger that mastectomy was the better option.
Ms. McTiernan is now 21 years old and attending a university for a degree in performing arts. She has already fully recovered from her cancer, and her parents, Peter and Mhairi, are joining the Great North Run to raise financial support for North East Teenage Cancer Trust who also supported their daughter during her illness.
Nevertheless, Ms. McTiernan believed if her cancer had been diagnosed early, she would have saved her life without mastectomy.
In the United Kingdom, breast cancer remains one of the most common types affecting over 50,000 women annually. Breast cancer among teens, however, is very rare, which may have caused the wrong diagnosis for Ms. McTiernan.
Breast cancer patients have increased survival rates with early detection and treatment. Over 90% of women with breast cancer can live for at least 5 to 10 years when it is diagnosed during its earliest stages. Breast cancer screening and breast self-exam can help identify some of the common physical signs like a lump, nipple discharge, breast size or shape change, and skin dimpling.
