An Adelaide mum of two is warning other women about a “weird” symptom she noticed that led to her being diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.
A new guide is now available for detecting, preventing, and treating breast cancer from two top doctors in the field who are also survivors who made the personal decision to have mastectomies.
“When you breastfeed your breasts change … it could be a blocked milk duct,” she said.
“I was used to it because I breastfed my first and I had all different changes in my breast.”
With two sons – three-year-old Beau and one-year-old Luca – Adriana thought extreme exhaustion and pain were all apart of motherhood.
But after finding the lump in November last year, her son Luca suddenly stopped breastfeeding.
“I thought it was very weird … I continued by just pumping but he still refused to breastfeed,” she said.
Adriana said was not until she started feeling pain in her arm eight weeks ago that she visited a doctor.
And suddenly, the 33-year-old’s world “fell down on her”.
Adriana Carmona was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer and is currently going through treatment while trying to raise two young boys, Luca, 1, and Beau, 3. Picture: Supplied by family,
“When I went to visit my GP for the results of my mammogram I kept thinking and believing she was going to tell me it was just some milk or whatever,” she said.
“It turned out to be cancer,” she said.
After hearing the news she had developed stage three breast cancer, she thought her oncologist would tell her she only “had a year left to live”.
Ms Carmona’s “biggest fear” was leaving her children with no mother.
“My biggest fear was the thought of them growing up without me … that was my main concern,” she said.
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Thankfully Ms Carmona’s breast cancer is “driven by estrogen” and doctors believe they can halt the cancer, which has spread to her pelvis and spine, through oral chemotherapy.
“I will have to take it for as long as I live, probably,” she said.
“That will keep the cancer at bay that means I can hopefully live the rest of my life.”
Ms Carmona is now advocating for breastfeeding women to take all lumps seriously.
“I really want people, particularly mums, to not ignore these signs,” she said.
“Even if you go to a doctor and it turns out to be just a blocked milk duct or whatever it is, it doesn’t matter, just get checked.
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“I remember feeling that there was something wrong with me, I was so tired.
“I just had this niggling thing in my mind telling me there’s something wrong with you, this is not normal the way you’re feeling. It’s just not normal. It’s not right.
“I didn’t have any other physical things, I just had that lump.”
Ms Carmona is going through radiotherapy, which is leaving the Warradale mum physically and mentally fatigued and constantly nauseous.
“My mobility has definitely been impacted by this whole thing, because I started with breast cancer but it’s moved to my pelvis and lower spine,” she said.
Cancer has taken the lives of the people closest to Ms Carmona. Her mother died 10 years ago from lung cancer as well as her grandfather 17 years ago.
“I’ve always known it’s important to live in the now and really appreciate the good things in life are,” she said.
“Any old drama doesn’t affect me because I have more important things to talk about.
“I just want to spend as much time with my family and friends.”
If you’d like to donate to Adriana Carmona, her husband Tom Crowley and their two sons, Luca and Beau, you can here.