Doctors 'dismissed' woman's common symptom before she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer which spread to brain
Topics: Cancer, Breast cancer, Health, NHS, London
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: SWNS
Topics: Cancer, Breast cancer, Health, NHS, London
Warning: This article contains discussion of cancer which some readers may find distressing.
A woman who was sent away by doctors despite experiencing a common breast cancer symptom has spoken out after it spread to her brain and lungs.
Lea Hughes, who lives in east London, first noticed a small lump on right breast in 2015 and wasted no time in getting to the doctor.
After taking a look at the area, doctors told then-29-year-old Lea she simply had 'lumpy boobs', and didn't qualify for any further testing.
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Recalling the experience, Lea said: "When the doctor first told me I had lumpy boobs, I'd never heard of it before. 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."
Two years after her initial trip to the doctor, Lea noticed the lump had become a 'dimple', so she got in touch with the doctor once again.
"When I explained it on the phone, they referred me straight to the hospital. I went for a mammogram and an ultrasound, then a biopsy," she recalled.
When Lea's test results came back, they confirmed she had cancer.
Unfortunately, however, the disease wasn't contained to her breast.
Lea explained: "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."
Lea began undergoing treatment and in June 2022 she had a single mastectomy.
She received chemotherapy, and in May 2024 she stopped receiving the treatment as doctors determined the cancer to be under control.
Just a few months later, however, a routine scan showed her liver tumors had began to progress. Further scans revealed the cancer had also spread to her brain.
Looking back, 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."
Lea has since undergone radiotherapy and chemotherapy, though the treatments have taken their toll.
The now-38-year-old said: "I'm 5ft 10ins and I went down to 7st (98lbs). 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."
In March 2025, Lea learned the cancer had spread to her lungs. She is now on her sixth course of chemotherapy, and has launched a fundraiser to access a targeted cancer drug called Enhertu. The treatment is available on the NHS in the UK for some breast cancers, but not Lea's due to its presence in her brain.
However, Lea remains hopeful the drug could be effective for her brain cancer, with trial results showing a positive survival rate in patients with active or stable brain metastases as well as breast cancer.
Without NHS funding, the treatment can cost over £10,000 ($13,745) per cycle.
Lea said: "I have no choice just to get on with it and keep fighting."
Find Lea's fundraiser here.