Mother, 30, blamed tiredness on looking after her toddler – but it was symptom of ‘most aggressive’ breast cancer
Georgina Hayward was shaving her armpits when she noticed a lump in her right breast.
The 30-year-old beauty therapist, from Leicester, made an appointment with her GP, noting that she had also been experiencing a ‘tingling and itching’ feeling in her breast and tiredness, which she put down to caring for her young child.
Ms Hayward said: ‘Where the lump was I was having a tingly active feeling in that area and it was a bit itchy.
‘I also had tiredness which I blamed on being a mum.
‘I have a two-year-old little girl and I was getting up with her quite a few times in the night so I didn’t think anything of it.
‘I’d stopped breastfeeding six months before I found the lump so I was thinking maybe it’s just that and things have settled down and something’s popped up to do with the breastfeeding.’
Her GP referred her for an urgent appointment in two week’s time where she underwent an ultrasound and, due to her mother previously having breast cancer, they performed a biopsy.
On November 26, Ms Haywood received the devastating diagnosis of grade three breast cancer.
Georgina Hayward was shocked to be told she had grade three breast cancer
Grade three cancers are rapid growing and more likely to spread than grades one or two.
Because it is so aggressive, it often requires chemotherapy and will not respond to hormonal therapy alone.
Ms Haywood is now waiting for her cancer to be staged, which establishes how large it is and if it has spread at all and will determine what kind of treatment she will need in the future.
‘I had to wait two weeks for those results and that’s when they pulled me back in and told me that they had found breast cancer.
‘It was really hard at the time – I was thinking it couldn’t be real. I’m only 30, you don’t expect these things.
‘You hear of other people getting it but you don’t expect it to happen to you, it was a really big shock.
‘I’m still waiting [for the cancer] to be staged now, but at the time they told me it was invasive breast cancer, which had started in the milk duct.
‘It was grade three, which was the most aggressive grade, which is really scary to hear.’
The young mother thought she was tired from looking after her children
The mum-of-two made the difficult decision to undergo a mastectomy for her ‘peace of mind’ and to reduce the chances of the cancer returning in the future.
Ms Haywood had a nipple sparing mastectomy on January 6th 2026, which leaves in place most of the healthy breast skin, the nipple and the areola.
She said: ‘I thought in my head that [the mastectomy] was better because I’ve heard from other people that if you just have the lump removed that sometimes you don’t get clear margins.
‘I thought for peace of mind I would have a mastectomy.
‘I know with having [just] the lump off it would always be in the back of my mind if all the cancer has been taken away.
‘It was scary waking up and wondering what my breast was going to look like but to be fair I’m happy with how it looks.
‘It’s a big thing [to have a mastectomy], being a woman and being young.’
Ms Haywood is planning to have reconstructive surgery on her breast within the next six to 12 months.
Ms Hayward with her partner and two children
She said: ‘I’ve had a breast expander put in at the minute while I’m waiting for my other results to come back, depending on what treatment I need.
‘And then I can have my permanent implants put in which I’m having on both sides so my breasts match.
‘That will happen in six months to a year’s time depending on what treatment I need next.’
Ms Haywood is urging other women to check their breasts regularly and to visit their GP if they notice any changes.
Ms Haywood said: ‘Be checking monthly because that’s something that I rarely did.
‘Make sure that if there’s any difference at all – not just lumps – skin changes and things like that, then go straight to your doctors.
‘See what they say and they will refer you if they think it’s needed and if you’re still not sure, push for your referral to put your mind at ease.
‘Go straight away if you notice any changes because it’s better to know than to be in a worse outcome.’
Ms Hayward opted to undergo a mastectomy to improve her chances of survival
Last year new data suggested that breast cancer deaths in the UK are set to soar by more than 40 per cent by 2050.
Just over 12,000 women lost their lives to the disease in 2022, figures show.
Yet, this is set to hit more than 17,000 by the half-century, with thousands more cases in Britain than previously estimated, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
Women in the UK have some of the lowest chances of getting breast cancer in Europe, but still fare worse than France and Sweden.
The data also showed patients in the UK are more likely to die from the cancer than women in America.
Experts from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)—part of the WHO—examined cancer data from over 50 different countries, including the UK.
They blamed a rising and ageing population—combined with unhealthy lifestyles—on the projected surge in cases and warned health officials it was ‘vital’ to act now.
It comes as concerning research has suggested breast cancer cases globally are rising in under-50s—an alarming phenomenon that has baffled experts.
