Doctors dismissed my common cancer symptom as ‘hormones' for 2 years – now I'm riddled with incurable tumours
FOR years, doctors told Lea Hughes that her common cancer symptom was simply caused by hormones - now she has tumours in her liver, bones, brain and lungs.
The 38-year-old first spotted a small lump on her right breast when she was 29, but was reassured her "lumpy boobs" were just due to hormones.
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But two years later, she spotted the lump had become a "dimple".
This time, doctors instantly referred her for an immediate mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy.
Lea was told she had stage four breast cancer and, in the years the cancer had been missed, it had spread to her liver and bones.
Confronted with an "incurable" diagnosis, Lea tried tried a range of medications, therapies, and treatments to stabilise her cancer and prevent it spreading further.
This seemed to work until August 2024, when a scan showed it had infected her brain.
In March this year, she learned the cancer was in her lungs too.
Lea, from the Wirral but living in Leytonstone, East London, has now exhausted NHS-funded options and is fundraising for private care.
She's hoping to raise enough money to access a targeted cancer drug called Enhertu, which isn't available on the NHS for people with Lea's diagnosis.
In clinical trials, the drug added months or even years to the lives of women with incurable breast cancer that had spread, but the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) last year decided not approve it for the NHS on value for money grounds.
Lea, a former fashion and retail marketer, said: "When the doctor first told me I had lumpy boobs, I'd never heard of it before.
Jessie J breaks down in tears in heartbreaking hospital video as she has surgery after breast cancer diagnosis
"But years on, I saw the lump had grown when I was putting a bikini on and I spotted a shadow caused by the lump.
"Within weeks, I was diagnosed with stage four incurable cancer aged 31.
"Treatments contained it - until August 2024 - and now it's in my brain and lungs too.
"I know the doctors and nurses so well now, after seven years at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London.
"It's longer than any relationship I've ever had."
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Lea first noticed her small lump on the front of her right breast in 2015 and went to the doctor to get it checked out.
But she says they told her she just had "lumpy boobs" and as she was only 29, with no family history, she didn't qualify for further testing.
She tried to raise it several times afterwards but says it wasn't until a holiday in early 2018 that doctors were prompted to act.
She said: "I was putting a bikini on and I saw a shadow and a dimple.
"When I explained it on the phone, they referred me straight to the hospital.
I have no choice just to get on with it and keep fighting
Lea
"I went for a mammogram and an ultrasound, then a biopsy.
"When it came back as cancer, they did a breast MRI scan and noticed a shadow on my liver in the corner.
"So they did full body scans - MRIs, PETs and bone scans - and learned it had spread to my liver and bones.
"I was diagnosed with stage four incurable cancer in a matter of weeks in April 2018 on Friday 13th, of all days."
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Lea was put on several treatments at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in a bid to stabilise and contain the cancer.
In June 2022, she had a single mastectomy.
Then one of the oral therapies made her so unwell that she ended up hospitalised in August 2023.
She said: "I had hypercalcaemia - high calcium levels in the blood - and needed multiple blood transfusions.
"It felt very real - I realised that this illness really could take me out."
What are the signs of breast cancer?
BREAST cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK.
The majority of women who get it are over 50, but younger women and, in rare cases, men can also get breast cancer.
If it's treated early enough, breast cancer can be prevented from spreading to other parts of the body.
Breast cancer can have a number of symptoms, but the first noticeable symptom is usually a lump or area of thickened breast tissue.
Most breast lumps aren't cancerous, but it's always best to have them checked by your doctor. You should also speak to your GP if you notice any of the following:
a change in the size or shape of one or both breasts
discharge from either of your nipples (which may be streaked with blood)
a lump or swelling in either of your armpits
dimpling on the skin of your breasts
a rash on or around your nipple
a change in the appearance of your nipple, such as becoming sunken into your breast
Source: NHS
Instead, Lea went on IV chemo for 10 months, which got the cancer under control.
But a routine scan in August 2024 showed her liver tumours had began to progress.
Doctors did a full-body scan to see if she would be eligible to join a new trial, but it found that the cancer had spread to her brain too.
Lea said: "It's one of those things, with stage four breast cancer, you know it can spread to the brain and you do worry.
"But I didn't expect it then, because I had no symptoms at all."
'Not giving in'
In September 2024 she started whole-brain radiotherapy, followed by another round of IV chemotherapy.
Then she had radiotherapy on her spine - but her body was so weak that it started to "give up" in December 2024.
She said: "I'm 5ft 10ins and I went down to 7st.
"I was too weak to hold myself up - I was watching myself waste away.
"I had to shave my head when I started losing my hair too.
"I didn't recognise myself and seeing those changes was very confronting."
Lea began having breathing issues in March this year. The cancer had spread to her lungs and she had 4.5 litres of fluid drained from them.
Now Lea is on her sixth course of chemotherapy.
She is fundraising to pay for Enhertu - which is available on the NHS for some breast cancers, but not Lea's.
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This is because her cancer has spread extensively, including to her brain.
But she believes it could potentially be effective for her brain cancer too, because Enhertu crosses the blood-brain barrier - which not many chemotherapies do.
In a trial undertaken by its developers - AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo - six in 10 women with incurable cancer saw their tumours shrink after being given Enhertu.
However, without NHS funding, it can cost over £10,000 per cycle.
Lea said: "I always try to lean into the positive - accepting how sh***y this is, but also not giving in.
"But it does feel very real when things don't work.
"I can't believe everything I've been through - you don't realise until you sit back and reflect.
"But I have no choice just to get on with it and keep fighting."
You can contribute to Lea's fundraiser here.
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