SA woman’s breast cancer diagnosis inspires lifesaving movement for women under 40

Linda Howell felt a Tic Tac-shaped lump under her skin when pregnant with her second son – months later she found out it could kill her. Now that find has inspired a lifesaving movement.

The BEAT Movement women who are under the recommended screening age holding the age they were when they were diagnosed with breast cancer. Picture: Kimberley Byrnes Photography and Jesses Photography

At 28 weeks pregnant Linda Howell felt a Tic Tac-shaped lump buried under the skin of her right breast.

She was ultimately dismissed after confronting midwives and multiple hospital doctors who told her she had a blocked milk duct.

Ms Howell lived with an extremely aggressive breast cancer for at least five months before she was officially diagnosed and her experience has inspired a lifesaving movement – The BEAT Movement.

Linda Howell, the founder of The BEAT Movement. Picture: Kimberley Byrnes Photography and Jesses Photography

The Banksia Park mum-of-two discovered she had cancer after she brought her second son Eli to his six-week check up at her regular GP.

She decided to show her GP the lump she’d noticed months earlier.

“She sent me straight through to the breast clinic,” the 38-year-old said.

On February 11, 2022 Ms Howell was diagnosed with stage two, grade three invasive ductal carcinoma, and her subtype is extremely aggressive with a high chance of reoccurrence.

“You go a bit into a dark hole, you think you are going to die and that’s a really scary place to be,” she said.

Young women, Emma Eckersley, Alana Roscio, Catherine King, Linda Howell, Annette Banitsiotis, diagnosed during pregnancy or within a few months post-partum. Picture: Kimberley Byrnes Photography and Jesses Photography

Since her diagnosis Ms Howell has connected 30 South Australian women who all share the common heartbreak of being diagnosed with Australia’s most common cancer in women when they were under 40.

“We have a small team of us who regularly speak to midwives in particular,” Ms Howell said.

“It’s so easy for young women who are pregnant to be overlooked – we just want to change the dialogue … if there is a breast lump that’s still there in two weeks, we’re going to get an ultrasound, we’re gonna get a biopsy.

“We want everyone to hear our story.”

Ms Howell said she doesn’t blame those medical professionals who dismissed her symptoms but blames the lack of awareness.

Catherine King died in March 2024 after an eight-year battle with breast cancer. Picture: Kimberley Byrnes Photography and Jesses Photography

Holly Beauchamp died in February 2023 after a 10-month battle with triple negative breast cancer. Picture: Kimberley Byrnes Photography and Jesses Photography

Heartbreakingly, since The BEAT Movement’s inception, two of their members, Holly Beauchamp and Catherine King, have since lost their fight with the disease.

Projects have been created in their memory with photographer Kimberly Byrnes offering free family photography sessions to women diagnosed under 40 in memory of Holly and a research fund created in memory of University of Adelaide academic Dr Catherine King.

“(Holly) was 38 when she was diagnosed, she had three children and she had 10 months from her original early stage diagnosis to when she passed away,” Ms Howell said.

“It’s a sneaky disease and unfortunately it’s really unpredictable … I watched (Holly) really rapidly change to stage four.”

Catherine was diagnosed with stage four when she found out she had breast cancer and lost her fight eight years later.

Originally published as SA woman’s breast cancer diagnosis inspires lifesaving movement for women under 40