A woman has told of how fake tanning her boobs during a pamper session for her 43rd birthday celebrations ended up saving her life - as it helped her spot cancer. Vicky Popham, now 45, decided to cheer herself up ahead of her birthday in June 2020 during lockdown and applied the bronzing product to her skin.
As she swept the tanning mousse across her right breast, the foster placement support worker was stunned to discover a hard £2 coin-sized lump. Wanting to rule out anything sinister, Vicky contacted her GP and was given a face-to-face appointment that afternoon.
The doctor examined her and immediately referred the then 43-year-old to the breast clinic to get it checked out. There, after two mammograms, a biopsy and a scan, doctors discovered a cancerous tumour hiding behind the lump of dense tissue Vicky felt.
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Vicky was stunned to be told they'd discovered a 35mm grade 3 mixed carcinoma and she underwent gruelling chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy.
Now cancer-free, but needing further surgery due to a recent BRCA2 diagnosis, Vicky is sharing her ordeal to urge people to regularly check themselves and seek medical help if they experience unusual symptoms.
Vicky, from Lincoln, Lincolnshire, said: "Putting fake tan on saved my life.
"I know it sounds ridiculous fake tanning your boobs when no-one's going to see them but I just slapped it all on and thank god I did.
"I wouldn't have known if I hadn't put that fake tan on.
"I was putting it on to cheer myself up during lockdown, it was close to my birthday and I was going out.
"I slapped it all on and found something that wasn't quite normal, it was a hard lump on the right side of my right breast."
Despite believing it to be a harmless lump related to her hormones, Vicky contacted her doctor to rule out anything serious and was given an appointment that afternoon [June 12th].
After having it checked out by her GP, she was referred to Lincoln County Hospital's breast clinic on July 7th where she was given the shocking diagnosis.
Vicky said: "My doctor was amazing, he examined me and wanted to know about my hormones as it sometimes connected to that.
"I didn't think anything of it, I genuinely thought it was connected to my periods.
"I went to the doctors thinking 'it'll be alright it'll just be something connected to my hormones' then he said he was going to refer me to the breast clinic to get it checked out.
"I was extremely lucky that there was no waiting around because of covid."
Three weeks later, after undergoing a physical examination, two mammograms and a biopsy, Vicky was told the devastating news that she had breast cancer.
Vicky said: "I was sitting on my own in a little room and I genuinely didn't think anything of it.
"That's where they told me 'we've found some cancer'. I didn't cry, I didn't have any emotion.
"I almost didn't believe it. I was massively in denial, I think I still am in denial, you don't believe it's happening to you.
"I cried afterwards and then went to work because there was nothing I could do. I told my family that day over video call because of the restrictions.
"I told my mum and dad, they were shocked and worried."
Surgeons told her she had a 35mm grade 3 mixed carcinoma hiding behind the lump of dense tissue she felt.
Vicky said: "The lump was on the right-hand side of my right breast, it felt hard and quite dense.
"It's amazing really but that wasn't the cancer, the cancer was behind that lump. What I felt was dense tissue and they found the cancer hiding behind it.
"I named the cancer the 'c bomb'."
On August 12, 2020, Vicky went to Grantham Hospital where she underwent a four-hour operation to remove the lump, surrounding tissue, and to check her lymph nodes.
Vicky then underwent six gruelling rounds of chemotherapy, with her last on Christmas Eve where she dressed as an elf, before having 18 rounds of radiotherapy.
Determined Vicky is now cancer-free, but a recent diagnosis of carrying the BRCA2 gene means she faces a double mastectomy in the near future to reduce the risk of the cancer returning.
Vicky said: "I started chemotherapy in November 2020 and had that every three weeks at Grantham.
"While Boris was having a party, I was walking down to that chemotherapy unit on my own, I've never been so scared.
"I was known for being a blonde bombshell. I lost my hair between the first and second session, it was quite quick. I miss it.
"I got told six weeks ago that I carry the BRCA2 gene. I don't have to have the operation but if I don't then I run the risk of it returning.
"What are you going to do? Have cancer or have no boobs? You're going to have no boobs, it's a no-brainer.
"When you think you've got rid of all the cancer and then two years down the line when normal life resumes to be told that the risk of it coming back is very high, it's a massive kick in the teeth."
Vicky is now urging people to undertake regular self-examinations so if they experience any changes they can get medical treatment straight away.
Vicky said: "I wasn't doing breast checks, I thought this kind of thing only happen to people that were over 50 and in the menopause.
"I didn't think anything of it at 43, I was living my best life.
"I would advise people to check every month and if you notice anything different go and get it checked out straight away.
"You can't wait, if I'd ignored that and done nothing about it I could have been stage 4 and that would have been a very different story."
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