'I've had breast cancer twice in four years - and now I don't trust mammograms'

Ellie Turner, 40, was diagnosed with stage one grade three breast cancer after a 3cm tumour was found on her right breast when she was 35 after she found a lump. After 16 weeks of chemotherapy, Ellie underwent surgery to have it removed and was given the all clear.

Sadly, in April 2025, Ellie found a second 7cm tumour after noticing a lump on her left breast which was missed on her regular mammograms.

Her most recent mammogram had been in November 2024 - with doctors telling her that it was only 90 per cent effective and that certain types of cancers can be missed.

Unfortunately, this time round, Ellie's treatment wasn't as straightforward - with the chemotherapy weakening her immune system - she was diagnosed with several other conditions, including labyrinthitis, colitis, and osteoporosis.

Because of this, Ellie's removal surgery was brought forward, and she was eventually moved on to oral tablet chemotherapy, which she will continue to take for the rest of the year.

Mum-of-two, Ellie, from Portsmouth, said: "I found the second lump last year in April, and the tumour was about 7cm. That's not something that grows overnight.

"I was hoping it would be a cyst, but my heart sank. It was like deja vu - I was pretty numb at that point. I didn't know what to say and took it all in - It felt surreal. Having it once, but to have it a second time in such a short time frame was devastating."

During the first diagnosis, Ellie, who shared her story with Sell Us Your Story, underwent chemotherapy with a very aggressive drug, which her body reacted badly too.

She said: "I had to do chemotherapy for 16 weeks. I had two different drugs in that period - 16 infusions altogether.

"The first eight was every two weeks, and the second drug was every week. My body didn't like it. I was having minor reactions every time - hot sweats, sickness, dizzy, sick."

Ellie was given the all clear in November 2022 before having the lumpectomy to remove the tumour.

But after two and a half years she found the second lump, and Ellie lost some trust in the mammograms she was having.

She said: "I didn't feel very trusting of the mammogram after that - I'm having these to make sure I'm cancer free, and something that is used as a trusted source, I then find out it's not 100 per cent effective."

She then asked not to have chemotherapy due to her reaction the first time round, but because of the size of the tumour, this wasn't possible.

She said: "They started the chemo with a different drug - I was okay on this one, but the first day I went into the hospital for chemo, I was in tears. I flew out of the unit that day, as I was so proud of myself for doing it. But after about the fourth lot, I became really dizzy - to the point of falling over.

"It kept happening, so I phoned them up, and they told me to go to A&E. They told me that I had labyrinthitis, which is caused by one of the chemotherapy drugs I was on - so they scrapped that drug. I went in for chemo the next time, and they said I wasn't well enough. I eventually got well enough and had two or three more rounds."

But before she could continue with her treatment, Ellie was diagnosed with colitis - the inflammation of the inner lining of the colon.

She said: "The steroids they put me on caused osteoporosis - which left me in agony, and I couldn't walk. It's just been horrendous - I found out just before then that my cancer had spread to my lymph nodes. They eventually brought my surgery forward as the cancer was still growing - I had that on November 14, 2025. It was horrible."

Despite her ordeal being over, Ellie worries about the cancer returning again.

She added: "I've been in the clear since my surgery, but you see things on the news like with Mel Shilling - she had her surgery and it said her cancer had gone, but it was still in her lung so you worry it might still be in other areas. Because it's in my lymph nodes, I fear it could spread to other areas of my body."

Ellie also has the BRCA1 gene mutation which puts her at further risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

"Once I've finished the tablets, I'm going to have my right breast and ovaries removed as well because of this gene, " she said.