A MUM diagnosed with incurable breast cancer fears she won't see her little girl grow up after she mistook her symptoms for the flu.
Kelly Bawcombe felt a small, grape-sized lump in her right armpit while taking a shower but initially thought nothing of it.
When it grew to the size of a golf ball in two weeks, the 39-year-old was prompted to see her GP.
After undergoing tests, Kelly was told she had breast cancer which had already spread to her bones and liver.
The mum-of-one said she had no symptoms in the months leading up to her diagnosis - and believed the armpit lump was just a sign she was coming down with the flu.
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Now, she's urging other women to check themselves properly when in the shower.
Kelly, from Watford, Hertfordshire, said: "If I could give any advice, I would tell people to get rid of any body puffs and wash yourself with your hands so you can feel any lumps or masses on you.
"The nurse said there's just been an influx of young people with breast cancer. You never think it'll happen to you at this age in your 30s. I never thought it would be something this serious.
"I say to anyone now, don't dismiss it, go to your GP and get a biopsy straight away."
Kelly hopes to see her seven-year-old daughter Megan grow up despite being told she has incurable cancer.
She said: "When it gets to stage four, it's classed as not curable.
"We hope to get to a stage where there's no active cancer in the body, it's not growing anymore but you'd still be living with cancer.
"I'm under a palliative care team but it's about managing the symptoms."
"My aim is to see my daughter marry, be happy, and live a long life."
One evening in March, Kelly noticed a lump which, in relation to cancer, can appear in the armpit or collarbone as well as the breast.
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She said: "As I was showering myself, I noticed a rubbery sort of lump in my right armpit where you would shave.
"It was around the size of a grape, it wasn't painful to touch at all.
"I immediately thought 'oh I must be under the weather' and I just had raised lymph nodes. I thought I was just coming down with something like a virus or a flu.
"I decided to take some vitamin C and vitamin D in case I was coming down with something.
"I thought it would just blow over, then two weeks later it grew to the size of a golf ball.
"It actually turned out to be a pretty life-changing shower."
Kelly was referred to the breast cancer clinic where two biopsies and a mammogram confirmed the mum had breast cancer.
She said: "I got a call two days after my biopsies from a Macmillan nurse asking me to come in with a loved one. I knew at that point.
"I went for a full body CT scan and was told the cancer has spread to my liver and bones too, which is classed as stage four.
"I kept thinking 'why me?'
"I was a surgical nurse for years and looked after breast cancer patients for 15 years. I had no other symptoms.
"I have no one in the family who has breast cancer on either side but they said they're seeing more and more young people with triple negative breast cancer with no family history.
"The worst runs through your head and what's the life expectancy.
"You think of Sarah Harding from Girls' Aloud who had breast cancer. You go through a dark road.
"It is mind over matter. The way you think, if you remain positive, I think you do last longer.
"My daughter is my drive. My support network has been amazing."
Kelly has already undergone three cycles of chemotherapy and radiotherapy on three areas of her body and is due to begin immunotherapy this week.
The mum is now urging others to check for lumps and bumps in their breasts and armpits - and ask their GP for a biopsy if they're concerned.
