Mum discovers ‘blocked milk duct’ is actually aggressive breast cancer while feeding her baby girl
"My little girl really saved my life. If I hadn’t breast fed her, I probably wouldn’t have found that lump."
A NEW who thought she had a blocked milk duct actually had an aggressive form of breast cancer – and she thanks her eight-month-old daughter for saving her life.
Dance teacher Rebecca Larter, 34, discovered she had an 8cm tumour less than a year after giving birth to her daughter, Tavia, now three.
Rebecca, of Blunham, Bedfordshire, was forced to have a double mastectomy, as well as undergoing chemo and radiotherapy.
Told she would be infertile after the treatment, Rebecca is now urging other women to pay attention to their bodies to spot anything unusual.
She said: “My breasts did the job they needed to before they were removed.
“I was lucky I was breastfeeding. My little girl really saved my life. If I hadn’t breast fed her, I probably wouldn’t have found that lump.”
Rebecca and her plumber and heating electrician partner Andrew Llewellyn, 34, first dated when they were 14, but rekindled their relationship four years ago after both their marriages broke down.
She said: “I’d always wanted to have a baby and, as I was reaching 30 when we got together, I told Andrew that getting pregnant was a deal-breaker for me.
“I said to him, ‘If you don’t want children then this isn’t going to work.
“Luckily, he did and when I fell pregnant in Christmas 2012 it was an amazing feeling.”
Rebecca had a healthy pregnancy and gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Tavia on August 30, 2013 at Bedford Hospital.
But in March 2013, just six months after Tavia was born, Rebecca noticed a pea-size lump on the edge of her left nipple.
She recalled: “I thought it might be a blocked milk duct, but I tried to massage it and it felt hard, so I went to the doctors.”
Medics first thought she might be suffering with mastitis, a common condition in breastfeeding women that causes breast tissue to become painful and inflamed.
But the lump didn’t go down, so Rebecca returned to her GP and was referred to a specialist.
A few weeks later, Rebecca was seen and sent for a biopsy, an MRI scan and a mammogram – going to Tenerife on a family holiday for a week while awaiting the results.
Two days after returning home, Rebecca and Andrew went to the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, where they were told she had cancer.
Rebecca said: “When doctors said it was stage 3, aggressive breast cancer, all I could think of was ‘who’s going to look after our girl’.
“We had an eight month old daughter who needed her mum. I wasn’t thinking ‘I’m going to die’- it was all about her.”
Medics said Rebecca would need chemotherapy, radiotherapy and recommended a mastectomy, in case the cancer came back.
Immediately, she decided to have both breasts removed and reconstructed to reduce any risk of the cancer returning.
But medics had more news for the high school sweethearts – it would be too risky to wait for another menstrual cycle for Rebecca to freeze her eggs, meaning the pair couldn’t have any more children.
She said: “We hadn’t talked about having more kids, but what I was really worried about was the changes in the way I’d look.
“I felt like I was losing my femininity, as my hair was falling out and my breasts were going to be removed. It felt so scary.”
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By June 2013, Rebecca had started four months of chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy.
She added: “During treatment, I had to look at my daughter and deal with not being able to pick her up, as I was unable to lift after surgery and I was weak from chemo.”
But exercise has been a huge part of Rebecca’s recovery.
She kept going to the gym, played netball and competed in 10k races during her treatment.
“I continued to exercise during my chemotherapy treatment and found it helped to take my mind off things and keep me fit,” she said.
“There were times when I wasn’t well enough, but I did as much as I could.
“My friends and I also took part in a 10k race for the cancer charity Macmillan during my chemotherapy. I’d signed up before I was diagnosed and I was determined to still do it.”
Since having the double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, which kept her boobs at a size 34B, Rebecca has been told she is in remission.
She now wants other women to make sure they check their breasts.
She said “I never thought that after giving birth to my beautiful daughter, I would find myself back at the hospital and this time with cancer. But I am just so happy that we had Tavia.
“I want to tell other women to make sure they check their breasts and know their bodies, too.”
Rebecca ran the Virgin Money London Marathon for Macmillan Cancer Support last year to raise money to help thousands of people living with cancer.
For more information about how to sign up for a Macmillan running event, visit