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Mum with incurable cancer told lump would 'go away'


A mum of two has been diagnosed with incurable breast cancer after a doctor initially told her a lump in her breast was a blocked milk duct.

Anna Alessandro, 32, of Middlesborough in England, told the Metro she found a lump in her breast in July, 2017 but it was put down to her pregnancy. Ms Alessandro said she was told it would “go away” after the baby arrived.

But in November after giving birth to her daughter Isabella she still felt the lump.

She told Teeside Live she went to a doctor who informed her she had “abnormal cells” which needed to be sent away for further testing.

Anna Alessandro, 32, of Middlesborough in England, said she found a lump in her breast in July 2017 but it was put down to her pregnancy. It turns out she had a tumour. Source: GoFundMe/ Anna's Fight
Anna Alessandro, 32, (pictured left with her daughter Millie) said she found a lump in her breast in July 2017 but it was put down to her pregnancy. It turns out she had a tumour. Source: GoFundMe/ Anna’s Fight

“I broke down. I just cried and cried – we left the room, I cried more, then I phoned my partner and told him,” she said.

Two weeks later the mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. She now has no chance of surviving it as it’s spread to her lymph nodes, her arm, two vertebrae and her sternum.

Ms Alessandro’s children, Millie, 4, and Isabella, 1, are facing life without a mother. It’s not known how much longer she has left to live.

“It is starting to hit me now, this is actually happening to me and it will kill me,” she told the Metro.

‘Lower the age for mammograms’

Ms Alessandro’s fiancée, Ashley Kearney, is still “really angry” after the mum wasn’t referred when the lump was initially found.

The mum of two is concerned her age was a factor in the misdiagnosis and wants her daughters to be vigilant in checking when they get older.

“I have said to Ashley I am probably not going to be here at the age when the girls will have to check their breasts, but make sure they check them,” she said.

“They need to lower the age for testing and for mammograms. I know women aged 21 who have breast cancer.”

Anna Alessandro, 32, of Middlesborough in England, said she found a lump in her breast in July 2017 but it was put down to her pregnancy. It turns out she had a tumour.
Ms Alessandro with her fiancee Ashley Kearney. Source: Facebook/ Anna Alessandro

The mum can’t lift one of her arms anymore and has had to quit her job.

A GoFundMe page has been started to raise money for the family.

Last week, BBC broadcast Rachael Bland, revealed she had just days to live after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Bland, a host for Radio 5 Live, died just days later. She was initially diagnosed with cancer in 2016.

In July, Melbourne mum Kylie Armstrong told Yahoo7 of her struggle with breast cancer after her 2016 diagnosis.

She shared photos on Facebook of dimples on her breasts to warn others the lumps are a sign of breast cancer.

To her disbelief, the post soon began to be appear right across the world, with tens of thousands of shares on Facebook.