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<\/p>\nA woman who dropped 19 stone says losing weight saved her life after finding a lump that turned out to be an aggressive cancer.<\/p>\n
Bethany Woodward, 27, was only able to feel the hard \u2018\u2019grape sized\u2019\u2019 lump in her right breast after losing over half her body weight.<\/p>\n
She was slimmed down to 11st and a dress size 12 after a gastric bypass in July 2019. In December 2021 she found the lump on her boob while lying down.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Mum shows off six-year transformation before embarking on weight loss in her 70s<\/b><\/p>\n
You can read more lifestyle stories from Daily Star here.<\/b><\/p>\n
Six months later she was officially diagnosed with stage three triple-negative breast cancer at Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. The care manager is still undergoing chemotherapy treatment until February 2024 but is speaking out to \u2018\u2019urge others to get checked out\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
Bethany from Great Wyrley, Staffordshire, said: \u201cThis experience has changed my mindset completely and I wouldn\u2019t be the person I am today without it.<\/p>\n
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\u201cLosing a load of weight is a life-change in itself but to be diagnosed with breast cancer is another thing entirely. Doctors said if I was bigger, I wouldn\u2019t have noticed the lump on my chest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was terrified going into it all. I feel so thankful to the NHS for the incredible treatment I\u2019ve received over the last four years not just with the chemo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI urge young women to get their breasts checked because it\u2019s a race against time. I\u2019m not in the all-clear but nothing is going to stop me from fighting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI own cancer, cancer doesn\u2019t own me.\u201d<\/p>\n
At her heaviest, Bethany was tipping the scales at 29st 7lbs and a UK size 32. After being \u201cfed up of being the bigger girl\u201d she decided to go under the knife to get her weight under control \u2018\u2019once and for all\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
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She registered for a \u00a312,500 gastric bypass at the private hospital, Dolan Park, Birmingham. After a successful surgery, by December 2021, Bethany weighed 11st and was a svelte size 10.<\/p>\n
But just before Christmas, the care manager found a grape-sized lump inside her breast. <\/p>\n
She adds: \u201cI\u2019m on my second cycle of chemotherapy treatment with 10 more to go but if all goes well, in April I\u2019ll get the all-clear. Whilst I can\u2019t eat my sweet treats like I used to, losing weight saved my life.<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle did I know that losing weight was just the start of it all.\u201d<\/p>\n
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