I thought I was ‘too young’ for cancer at 27 so I ignored a glaring red flag for months. This is what I want all Aussies to know before it’s too late…

Gemma Milling, 27, was working long hours in politics where every day blurred into the next.

So when she noticed something that should have stopped her in her tracks – a lump that didn’t feel right – she told herself she would deal with it later.

She believed she was too young for cancer even as a persistent ‘gut feeling’ lingered in the background – one she would later wish she had trusted sooner.

Now 35, Gemma admits she ignored that clear warning sign for months before finally seeking medical advice, only to be diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer.

‘I’d gone out for a run… came home, had a shower, and I noticed a lump,’ she told the Daily Mail.

‘I just thought… that’s not quite right.’

It was on the side of her right breast and obvious – a solid, undeniable presence that would measure 3.5cm by the time she was diagnosed.

But Gemma delayed a trip to the doctor; she first noticed the lump in November 2017 and was finally diagnosed in May 2018.

‘I held off on seeing a doctor for four or five months. We had a state election at the time, I was a bit too busy,’ she said.

Like many young women, she lived with the assumption that cancer was something that happened ‘later in life’.

‘I did worry that it could be something serious, but I was only 27 at the time’ she said.

Still, Gemma checked the lump occasionally for any changes, but doesn’t recall noticing a significant difference over the months.

‘I just thought I’d put it off until life settled down.’

The appointment that changed everything

When she eventually raised it with her GP while getting a prescription filled, she was fortunate to have seen a doctor who did not dismiss her concerns because of her age.

‘She’d worked in a breast clinic, so she didn’t write me off as being too young,’ Gemma said. 

That moment – a referral for an ultrasound that could easily have been delayed or dismissed – became pivotal.

‘I hate to imagine where I’d be now if she hadn’t referred me.’

The tests moved quickly from there, culminating in a biopsy and an appointment where her doctor delivered the news.

‘She told me it was a malignant tumour… and that didn’t register with me at all,’ Gemma said.

It was only when the word ‘cancer’ was spoken plainly that reality landed.

She had Stage 2 oestrogen receptor-positive, HER2-positive breast cancer, a type of aggressive cancer driven by hormones but highly responsive to treatment.

At the time of diagnosis, the cancer had not spread beyond her breast.

A life interrupted – and a future put on hold

Gemma had been married, and she and her husband had been planning to start a family that very year, a timeline that suddenly felt fragile and uncertain as treatment plans took shape around her.

‘We went through some rounds of egg harvesting before treatment,’ she said.

‘I’m really grateful I was offered that option, because a lot of young women aren’t.’

Many young women who have been diagnosed with cancer have said going through IVF interrupts the present and forces decisions about futures that have not yet fully begun.

‘The cancer was certainly a spanner in the works for our plans.’

Treatment, endurance, and the mental toll

Gemma’s treatment was intense: five months of chemotherapy, beginning with aggressive intravenous rounds every two weeks, followed by weekly sessions, and then months of a drug called Herceptin.

‘Compared to a lot of people, I got through chemo quite well,’ she said.

She lost her hair but she did not experience severe nausea, a side effect many patients endure.

Instead, it was the exhaustion that defined her days, a deep, bone-level fatigue that would settle in days after treatment.

‘I would get very tired… and I’d basically just sit on the couch and stare off into space for the whole day.’

She continued working when she could, supported by a boss who allowed her to work from home and adjust her hours, clinging to a sense of normality that reminded her she was still herself beyond the illness.

But if the physical side effects were manageable, the emotional landscape was more complex.

‘When you’re tired, things just feel so much harder, and that messes with your mental state.’

Small rituals that kept her going

In the midst of treatment, Gemma developed a ritual of writing down one thing each day that she was grateful for.

‘Some days it would just be… I’m thankful for work, I’m thankful for my husband, I’m thankful I could go for a walk,’ she said.

‘They were just little things, but they all added up.’

It became a way of anchoring herself in something steady and positive even when everything else felt uncertain.

Life after cancer – and the fear that lingers

Gemma underwent a double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction in early 2019, marking the end of her primary treatment, though the psychological impact stuck around.

She went on to have two children – something that, after everything, felt almost miraculous.

‘When I found out I was pregnant, I was absolutely over the moon,’ she said.

After years of uncertainty around fertility, the experience of becoming a mother carried its own emotional weight.

‘I remember sitting with my daughter at night and just thinking, would I be here to see her grow up?

‘The cancer coming back is definitely something that plays on your mind.’

Now, having passed the five-year mark, Gemma no longer sees her doctors regularly, a milestone that is both reassuring and unsettling.

‘It will really just be me checking myself, which is a bit daunting. But I know the doctors are only a phone call away if I need them.’

‘Don’t put it off’

Looking back, there is one thing Gemma is clear about – the instinct she had in that shower, the moment she knew something wasn’t right, was worth listening to.

‘In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have put it off,’ she said.

Her story speaks to a broader reality: that breast cancer in young women, while less common, is often more aggressive, and that delays – even those that feel reasonable at the time – can carry consequences that are impossible to predict.

‘Young women are typically diagnosed with more aggressive forms of cancer. So if you notice something, don’t put it off,’ she said.

For people like Gemma, the work of Breast Cancer Trials in improving breast cancer treatments is vital, so she and others can get back to living their lives more quickly. 

All new breast cancer treatments and prevention strategies must be rigorously tested through the clinical trials process before they are made widely available to the community.

To learn more about Breast Cancer Trials’ lifesaving research or to make a donation, visit: