AFTER a compliment on her swimsuit alerted Laina Nielson to a frightening symptom on her body, she headed to see her doctor who assured her it he was “99.5 per cent” sure it was nothing to worry about.
But it was the 29-year-old’s persistence to undergo further testing that led to the discovery she had killer breast cancer .
Laina, an oncology nurse, has been enjoying a sunny day at the beach with her boyfriend, Lewis, when they popped into an ice-cream shop.
As the girl behind the counter admired her swimsuit, Laina looked down to say thanks, only to spot a small indent in her left breast.
“When I got home, I started feeling around, and sure enough, there was about a one-inch tumour,” said Laina, from Wilmington, North Carolina .
“I started to panic, obviously.”
New to Wilmington and still without proper healthcare in place, Laina made an urgent appointment with a gynaecologist.
“We had just moved, and I hadn’t established care yet, so I booked with the first doctor I could find,” she said.
Her gut instinct as an oncology nurse told her something was wrong but the doctor disagreed.
“He felt around and told me it was just a fibroid,” she said.
“But he agreed to send me for an ultrasound anyway. I looked at the screen during the scan and thought, ‘That’s cancer .’ The radiologist came out and said, ‘You’re 29. This is just a fibroid’. I asked how sure he was. He said he was 99.5 per cent sure I didn’t have cancer and told me to come back in six months.”
But Laina didn’t wait. “I said no. I told him to order a biopsy,” she said.
That decision saved her life.
“Twenty-four hours later, I got the call while I was out walking my dog. The biopsy results were in. ‘A little bit of cancer,’ they said. I was in complete shock.
“I didn’t know what to do, so I started cleaning. I needed to keep my hands busy.”
Whirlwind of appointments and ops
What followed was a whirlwind of appointments, three or four every week, and then a double mastectomy with reconstruction in August, just weeks after her diagnosis.
The cancer had also spread to her lymph nodes, so she underwent a lymphadenectomy and, miraculously, also managed to retrieve her eggs during recovery.
“I didn’t know if I wanted kids, but I always wondered if I should freeze my eggs just in case,” she said.
“Suddenly, I didn’t have time to wonder. It was a silver lining in a really dark moment.”
She started five months of chemotherapy , followed by three weeks of intense radiation, which was double the usual dosage to shorten the treatment window.
After radiation ended, she finally allowed herself to breathe.
Finishing treatment was emotional. I had my mum, my sister, my brother and his amazing wife there to celebrate. But the truth is, it doesn’t end there
Laina Nielson
“You think, ‘Okay, I’m done. I’m in the clear’. And finishing treatment was emotional. I had my mum, my sister, my brother and his amazing wife there to celebrate. But the truth is, it doesn’t end there,” said Laina.
Her hormone-positive breast cancer means she now takes medication to keep her body in menopause , a tough adjustment at 29.
And the side effects have been intense.
“Verzenio medication messes with my hormones. There are days I just crash. I post in real-time on TikTok because I want to show people the real stuff, not just the polished moments,” she said.
While her message is rooted in positivity, Laina doesn’t sugarcoat the realities.
“I have PTSD from being diagnosed. I get triggered by scents, the time of day I was diagnosed, even TV shows I watched during treatment. It all comes flooding back,” she said.
What are the signs of breast cancer?
BREAST cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK.
The majority of women who get it are over 50, but younger women and, in rare cases, men can also get breast cancer.
If it’s treated early enough, breast cancer can be prevented from spreading to other parts of the body.
Breast cancer can have a number of symptoms, but the first noticeable symptom is usually a lump or area of thickened breast tissue.
Most breast lumps aren’t cancerous, but it’s always best to have them checked by your doctor. You should also speak to your GP if you notice any of the following:
- a change in the size or shape of one or both breasts
- discharge from either of your nipples (which may be streaked with blood)
- a lump or swelling in either of your armpits
- dimpling on the skin of your breasts
- a rash on or around your nipple
- a change in the appearance of your nipple, such as becoming sunken into your breast
Source: NHS
“My therapist is amazing, and my support system is everything. Without them, I don’t know how I’d have gotten through this.”
Her journey wasn’t without complications.
Two months after her mastectomy, her right incision split open and exposed her implant. It had to be removed.
“I cried. I didn’t want to look sick,” she said.
“But eventually, I stopped caring. I didn’t even use the prosthetic my surgeon gave me. Some people stared. Some even asked questions. But I felt okay with it. I owned it.”
Radiation healed quicker than expected, and her implant was replaced sooner than planned.
Today, Laina is cancer-free.
“I became cancer-free the day of my mastectomy. But I didn’t say it out loud until I finished all my treatment. Now, I live as someone who is cancer-free,” she said.
Her message is clear: cancer is terrifying. But it’s not always a death sentence.
“Don’t Google everything,” said Laina.
“Don’t spiral. It’s not all bad. You can still have joy, even during treatment. You can laugh, cry, heal, and grow. It’s possible to live a full life again.”
And if you ask her what she hopes people take from her story? “Just that one person out there sees this and realises: it’s going to be okay. We’re in this together,” she said.
