A Salford woman found out she had cancer after her friend’s book encouraged her to check for lumps.

Jade Hills, 31, from Monton, received a cancer diagnosis after reading a friend’s book encouraging her to check for any lumps.

“One of my friends that I used to go to school with, has breast cancer and wrote a book about her own journey of it, so I bought her book,” she said. “I was literally getting to the end and I went to the toilet and found a lump.”

This was the last thing that Jade expected would happen to her at 31, and shows cancer does not discriminate and is inclusive of all ages, genders and ethnicities. “I’m trying to raise awareness for men as well, as they can get breast cancer too.”

Jade has had a lumpectomy to determine which treatment she will need

After receiving her diagnosis, Jade turned straight to social media to start raising awareness.

She added: “When I first found out, I put a post on Facebook letting people know that I’d got breast cancer; and I’ve had a few people message me already saying that they’ve had to go to the doctors to get checked after reading my story because they’ve found a lump themselves.”

Jade is now awaiting results which will determine how the cancer will be treated.

“At the moment, I’ve had a lumpectomy and I’ve been told that I’d probably need chemo and definitely radiotherapy,” she said. “So I’m just waiting on my results. Which I should get in the next couple of weeks.”

Jade was just 31 when she discovered the lump

To raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support and spread further breast cancer awareness Jade’s family members are taking part in a charity bike ride, to help others.

“My boyfriend, Harry, is doing a bike ride, I want to be able to do it if I can. Harry, my stepdad and also my uncle are doing it. It’s from London to Brighton and then basically back again the same day, so it’s over 108 miles. So far we’ve raised £2060.”

Jade and Harry – image from Jade Hills

After beating her initial target, Jade is trying to raise as much as possible to give other cancer patients support.

“Our target was £2000, but then my boyfriend put it to £2500 today,” she added. “We didn’t think that we’d even get to £2000.”

You can find details of Jade’s fundraiser here

For help and advice please seek help from your local NHS services and via Macmillan Cancer Support or call 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week 8AM – 8PM).

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