A mum has been told she's dying of breast cancer - after being refused a test for years due to being 'too young' then finding a lump. 💔
Chantelle Van Der Watt started requesting screenings when she moved from South Africa to the UK in 2020 after previously having annual mammograms due to her family history of cancer.
As she was 34 at the time, she wasn't eligible for the NHS breast screening programme that only invites women from the age of 50.
Chantelle pleaded her case with doctors and a breast clinic at Milton Keynes University Hospital who eventually said they could start screenings at the age of 40.
But before she could hit that milestone the mum-of-two began feeling unwell and discovered a lump in her right breast at the age of 39.
The mum claims doctors even told her 'you're still young, you won't get it' when she found the pea-sized lump in January 2025, despite both her grandmothers dying of breast cancer.
In February 2025 Chantelle was diagnosed with breast cancer and in April 2025 was devastated to be told it had spread to her bones and gave her just five years to live. 💔
The stay-at-home mum has now set up a fundraiser to help put down a deposit on a house so her family can leave rental properties and have a place to 'call home' in future.
Chantelle, from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, said: "I turned 39 and two months later I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"It's been horrific. I think of my kids, will I ever get to see them get married. They give you a time frame and you think 'will I get to see them go to prom', it's all these little things." 😢
Chantelle is now relying on medication to try and keep the cancer at bay.
Chantelle said: "When I lived in South Africa, I would go every year for a mammogram even though I was so young. When we came to the UK they only do screening from the age of 50, which I thought was a little bit ridiculous." ❗
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