Featured Image Credit: Michael Rankin/PA Real Life
Topics: Breast cancer, Health, Parenting, UK News, Cancer
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Breast cancer, Health, Parenting, UK News, Cancer
A mother who thought she was simply experiencing fatigue from being a busy mom ended up being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Anj Periyasamy was diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer at the age of 37 in March 2022.
Before getting the devastating news, Anj said the only symptom she had before she found a lump on the underside of her breast was feeling 'knackered', which she simply 'put down to motherhood' from looking after her daughters, Jasmin and Maya, who were just five and two respectively at the time.
Anj said she thought that the lump was 'probably nothing' but 'something just didn’t sit right' so she proceeded to have a virtual GP appointment where she was encouraged to get an in-person examination.
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Attending a clinic in central London, UK, Anj said she had a consultation where the breast surgeon agreed that it was 'probably nothing' and that she was 'too young' for breast cancer. She was still encouraged her to have a mammogram, ultrasound and a biopsy though as a precaution.
Within a week, Anj was advised to go for an MRI, where she said she looked at the specialist 'square in the eye' and asked: "Is this sinister or not? Just tell me straight."
After the breast surgeon confirmed her suspicions that it could be cancer, Anj remembered the heartbreaking thing that she said.
"But it can’t be. What about my children? I have to be around for my kids. They’re so little," the devastated mom-of-two said at the time.
Over the course of the next six months, Anj said she had 16 rounds of chemotherapy, followed by a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction, 15 rounds of radiotherapy, as well as 14 rounds of IV Herceptin (a targeted antibody therapy to inhibit tumour growth) and six rounds of IV bisphosphonates (a medication to strengthen bones).
She said she also had monthly injections of Zoladex and Letrozole to lower her hormone levels and keep her in medical menopause, before she switched to Tamoxifen after two years due to 'horrid' side effects.
On top of losing her hair, eyelashes and eyebrows towards the end of her chemotherapy treatment, Anj said her fingernails blackened, and she experienced fatigue and 'chemo fog' that meant her body was 'almost relearning everything again'.
But one of the hardest things of all that she's experienced is the menopausal symptoms.
Anj, now 41, explained that her specific type of breast cancer is 'fed by hormones' so she essentially needs to keep her ovaries 'asleep'. This means she cannot use HRT to ease her list of symptoms which includes night sweats, hot flushes, mood swings, low libido, hair thinning, muscle aches and tendon pain.
"I can’t even use certain herbal supplements," Anj added. "No one talks about this."
Four years on from her diagnosis, Anj said her eyebrows still haven’t fully grown back and her skin isn’t the same due to the menopause, but she’s living well.
She said she’s sharing her story now because she wants to be visible as a South Asian woman: "There’s not enough education out there, there’s not enough awareness, and there’s not enough people that look like me – young brown women."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.