Family puts in the miles for breast cancer

Lauren Miles is living proof that breast cancer is not ageist.

Lauren Miles is living proof that breast cancer is not ageist.

The 26-year-old nurse found a suspicious lump on her right breast in December.

Her medical knowledge meant she wasted no time and visited her GP that day for tests.

Within a week, a biopsy and ultrasound told her the lump was benign, although she had a gut feeling to seek a second opinion.

“I pushed to see a surgeon, who removed the lump, and it turned out to be cancerous,” Miss Miles said.

She has since had a mastectomy and is about to start five weeks of precautionary radiation therapy.

“It wasn’t a great time – the actual (mastectomy) decision was that it just had to be done,” she said. “It all happened so quick, I didn't have much time to think about it.”

Potential fertility concerns are an implication Miss Miles now faces because of the demands the radiation therapy will put on the body.

Stephen, Lauren and Kathleen Miles are part of the Run for Miles team in the Mother's Day Classic. Picture: Matt Loxton

One in seven women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime and an estimated eight women die from breast cancer every day in Australia.

Miss Miles urged anyone with suspicious growths around their breasts to take immediate action and to be their own advocate.

“Just knowing your own body, age isn’t really a factor,” she said. “Get lumps checked straight away and go with your gut, because if I had listened to the GP, who knows where I would be now.”

Members of Miss Miles’ family are travelling from pockets all over South Australia and Victoria to support the Run for Miles team in next month’s Mother’s Day Classic in Adelaide.

The Mother’s Day Classic is the largest donor to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, donating $2.1 million to the cause last year.

This year’s charity run/walk starts from North Adelaide on Sunday, May 12.

Registrations are open for the 2.1km, 4.5km and 7.4km routes.

For more details, visit mothersdayclassic.com.au