'I found a lump in my breast watching Bake Off'

A woman has told how she found a lump on her breast while sitting on the sofa watching The Great British Bake Off.

Vicky Green, from Mickle Trafford in Cheshire, was tucking her hands under her armpits to warm up as she watched television when she felt the marble-sized lump in her left breast.

While waiting for an initial appointment with her GP in November 2023, Ms Green, then 30, found a second lump, before being diagnosed with grade three triple negative breast cancer.

Recalling the moment she was told she had cancer, Ms Green said: "I was absolutely devastated. I completely broke down and cried and cried."

"I just couldn't believe it. I mean, at 30, that wasn't even remotely on my radar," she added.

Ms Green said that her grade three cancer diagnosis meant it could grow or spread more aggressively.

"I'm so grateful that I found it that day because we got it quickly before it had a chance to spread," she said.

"There's no doubt that that would have completely spread through my body," she added.

Ms Green had to undergo surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy as part of her treatment plan.

She said her family and her fiance, Mick Thurston, who is an army captain, supported her throughout, with their attitude being "positive pants on and we're going to do this".

One of the things that also helped her during treatment was planning their wedding, which is taking place in July 2026.

Ms Green, who found the lump in October 2023, delayed chemotherapy until January 2024 as she and her fiancé, who proposed to her in December, had plans to start a family and were warned this treatment could affect her fertility.

She underwent fertility treatment beforehand and has had a number of embryos frozen.

Ms Green, who is a merchandise planner for a clothing company, said she that by the time she had chemotherapy one of the lumps had already grown "much bigger".

Ms Green underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Wirral between January and May 2024.

She then had surgery including a mastectomy and the removal of five lymph nodes in her armpits at Whiston Hospital in Merseyside in June 2024, before being given the all clear in July.

She then had three weeks of radiotherapy at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Wirral in August.

Ms Green will now have yearly MRI scans as a precaution.

Having been through cancer treatment, she is now urging people to regularly check their breasts and seek help if they find anything they are concerned about.

"Make sure you know what your normal is and, if you find anything, just get it checked," she said.

Ms Green has been invited to be a guest of honour at the Race For Life event in Chester on Sunday 11 May, when she will sound the klaxon to start the race and take part herself.

She said she planned to walk the course alongside her mum, Suzanne Green, 65, who is coming to the end of cancer treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma, having been diagnosed just a yea rafter her daughter.

Ms Green's sister Sarah Askey and nephew Harry, aged nine, also plan to join them for the race, which raises funds for Cancer Research UK.

"Race For Life is an amazing event, with so many people in a sea of pink T-shirts and everyone with their common goal we're all united in to raise money for research against this horrible, horrible disease that is affecting so many people," she said.

To check your breasts or chest, the NHS advises the following steps:

• Look at your breasts or chest in a mirror to look for any changes. Start with your arms by your sides and then raise them.
• Feel around each breast or side of your chest in a circular motion all the way up to your collarbone and under each armpit. Use a mix of light and firmer pressure. Do not press so hard it hurts.
• Feel around and over each nipple.

You may find it easier to feel your breasts or chest in the shower or lying down. See a GP if you have any concerns.

Read more stories from Cheshire on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.