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How cup of tea helped mum discover she had cancer


A mum’s life was saved by a simple cup of tea after she discovered a tumour when she reached for her evening brew.

Nicola Fairbrass of Derby in England, decided to take a cuppa to bed with her in November last year but as she turned around to grab it from her bedside table, she felt a lump in her left breast.

“I left it for about two weeks, thinking it might just be a cyst or something else,” Ms Fairbrass said.

“But then it became bigger again, and when I went to the doctor they referred me straight to the hospital.

“I love tea and I think, in a way, it saved my life.”

Nicola Fairbrass was sipping tea when she leaned over and felt a lump on her chest. She was later diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. Source: Caters
Nicola Fairbrass was sipping tea when she leaned over and felt a lump on her chest. She was later diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. Source: Caters

The mum, who claims to drink five cups of tea a day, went to her doctor two weeks later and discovered she had stage three breast cancer.

The 44-year-old had to have a mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy before she was diagnosed.

While initially she was told she would need a mastectomy, her doctor suggested she tried chemotherapy first.

The mum underwent a lymph node surgery in January this year to make sure the cancer wasn’t spreading, and then needed eight rounds of gruelling chemotherapy for six months.

The mum was initially told she would need a mastectomy but has since had chemotherapy, a lumpectomy and 20 sessions of radiotherapy. Source: Caters
The mum was initially told she would need a mastectomy but has since had chemotherapy, a lumpectomy and 20 sessions of radiotherapy. Source: Caters

But luckily the treatment worked, and the lump was reduced in size from 43 millimetres to 17 millimetres.

She then underwent a lumpectomy and 20 sessions of radiotherapy. In September she was declared cancer-free however she has to continue to take medication.

While it’s been a tough year for the mum, she advised anyone who feels a lump not to delay a trip to the doctor.

“I don’t think people check themselves enough, so I want to raise awareness,” she said.