Sophie Jenkins was 21 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She explains how she overcame one of life’s toughest hurdles.
Photo: Image: Pinky Fang
On a day soon after her 21st birthday, Sophie Jenkins should have been out hunting, working or at a friend’s party. Instead, she was with her partner Adam in a doctor’s office.
At this point, she says she wasn’t very concerned. The doctors she’d seen so far had said it was highly unlikely the little marble-like lump she’d found in her right breast was cancer.
Eight women are diagnosed with the disease every day, but only six per cent are aged under 45. Sophie thought it was normal for women to have lumps on their breasts, she was so young after all.
But Sophie’s family had a history. Twelve women in her family had been diagnosed with breast cancer, including her grandmother and mother. Her grandmother beat the disease, but her mother died when Sophie was six.
When she felt the lump, she’d been doing a weekly self-check and advice from her family had played in her head: “I was always told if ever in doubt, get it checked out.”
Four years on, Sophie remembers the worried look on the doctor’s face when he walked into the waiting room knowing the news he had to deliver to her.
“My first thought when I was diagnosed was I was worried about my partner and my family and how they would take it,” she says.
“Also, my image would change and I wouldn’t be the fun young healthy woman that my partner fell in love with.”
There was also the question: Was she going to die?
'THIS ISN'T FAIR, SHE'S SO YOUNG'
Sophie says her family’s history with breast cancer made her determined to fight the disease.
“It made me more aware to what I was in for, and the knowledge I had [helped to find] the lump.
“I think any woman in that situation knows all you can do is fight.”
The next six months were a blur for Sophie, filled with surgery, chemotherapy and more tough life decisions than most people make in a lifetime.
But first, Sophie had to overcome the hardest hurdle of them all - telling her family that she had breast cancer. It was something she got her sister to do for her because it was just too hard to do herself.
Sophie and Adam at the beginning of the year at a friends wedding. Photo: Supplied
“I think the hardest person to tell was my father as he had to watch my mother battle and lose her fight with this horrible disease.”
Gary Jenkins says he was shocked when he was told about his daughter.
“My thoughts were: ‘This isn’t fair, she’s so young’.
“But we committed immediately to do what we had to and beat this.”
The diagnosis also raised concerns for older sister Emma’s health.
Testing found both sisters carry a rare gene called ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM), which has been associated with breast cancer.
This means that Emma will have to be monitored and have regular MRI scans every year.
After surgery, Sophie started four months of chemotherapy. “Chemo was an experience that’s for sure. It’s hard to explain but it really knocks you around and just takes everything out of you.
“I definitely have never complained about a hangover since.”
Sophie then made the tough decision to get a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery in the hope of reducing future risk.
“I felt at the time I wouldn’t feel safe until I eliminated all of the breast tissue and my specialist felt this was a good option as my young age and high chance of developing breast cancer in my other breast.”
“I am glad that I did and I wouldn’t go back and change anything.”
With all the breast talk, Sophie admits that she did become obsessed with boobs.
“I think most women do. You learn to appreciate them a lot more.
“My plastic surgeon did an amazing job on my breasts and the perks are I don’t have to really wear a bra.”
But from her breasts and scars, to the loss of her hair and weight changes, Sophie says she struggled with body image throughout the journey.
“I had put on about 8kgs while taking Tamoxifen and it took me a year to get it off after stopping the pills.
“I felt like no matter how healthy I ate, no matter how much I worked out it wouldn’t budge.”
I think any woman in that situation knows all you can do is fight.
She says the hardest thing was not feeling like a woman, an issue that really hit home for her when she lost her hair.
“I had a couple of great wigs but it was very hard to look in the mirror without my wig on.”
It was a group of friends that helped Sophie through the loss of her hair by shaving their heads as well.
“I was blessed to have such amazing friends.”
Support was one of the key things for Sophie. Her family, partner and friends all helped her get through it, as did strangers, now friends, that she met through Shocking Pink, an organisation that helps support young women through breast cancer. “I think it really helps to have contact with women that understand what you’re going through and offer their advice.”
THE NEXT CHAPTER
Sophie and Adam have recently embarked on a new journey of starting their own family, one that has not been easy due to the side effects of chemo.
Before starting chemo, Sophie was sent to have a chat to the fertility associates, but at the time she felt putting more hormones into her body for egg removal would grow the cancer, so she decided she would take her chances.
“I never thought I would have issues starting a family, I don’t think you really understand that side of infertility when you're 21.”
Now, at 25, all her friends seem to be getting pregnant and Sophie admits she found it hard to understand why she could not do what seems so easy for other couples.
The hardest part is the feeling of not being able to give my partner what he deserves, she says.
Right now they are going through their first round of IVF, which they have been told would give them the best chance to conceive.
“It has now been two years since we started trying for a baby.”
There are risks involved with the treatment, as hormone levels are raised so the risk of cancer returning is heightened.
“That’s always in the back of my mind.”
KNOW YOUR BREASTS
As a young woman, Sophie was lucky that her family had a lot of knowledge about the disease and she was always aware of self-checks and the signs to look for.
Breastcare nurse Janice Wood says while breast cancer is not common in young women, is it important they know their breasts so they can spot any changes.
By time young women feel a lump it can be more advanced, which is why we encourage women to be breast aware, she says.
Wood says it does not matter how self-checks are done, it just matters that they happen.
Sophie encourages women to do regular self-checks, and hopes in the future there is more knowledge and support for young women going through breast cancer, such as free breast screening for women as young as 18.
Of course, she also hopes that one day there will be a cure to the disease that has had an immeasurable impact on her family.
Sophie has spent the past four years making up for the six months she lost to treatment.
Her partner popped the question in 2013 and the pair brought their own home. Now, all they need is the pitter patter of little feet to complete their family.
Sophie says there is always that elephant in the room and with every ache, lump and bump she is straight to her doctor to get checked out.
Even so, she says she has tried to not look back and has focused on the future.
What to look for …
• A new lump or thickening, especially if it is only in one breast.
• A breast pain that is unusual
• A change in breast shape or size
• A change in the skin of the breast such as:
• Any change in a nipple
You should contact a health professional if you notice any of these changes.