I left the UK on a well-deserved holiday to my second home in Nigeria. The weather was great, the food was out of this world and the people were very welcoming.

Most evenings I’d go for a run and usually about two hours afterwards, I noticed I’d get an ever so slight ache on the right breast. I conducted my regular breast checks and felt confident that my breasts were fine as I hadn’t found any lumps or anything out of the ordinary. Instead, I made a mental note that upon my return home, I would invest in another sports bra.

Then one morning, I woke up and noticed a tiny brown dot on my white night vest around the breast area. I thought it a little strange because after my run the night before, I had a shower, had dinner and didn’t change for bed for some hours. While taking a shower that morning I performed my checks and again found nothing out of the ordinary.

A few days later, I woke up and yet again found this mysterious brown mark on the right breast area of my white vest. I must have stared at it for about ten minutes before I got my standing magnifying mirror out. I checked both breasts looking for any telltale signs but NOTHING…

After a few minutes, I decided to squeeze the right nipple and out came the brown fluid. I literally stopped breathing. When I got back to my senses, I picked up my mobile and called a very close friend with medical knowledge back in the UK. I told him what I had just discovered and asked him what I should do, as I was crippled with fear.

Firstly, he assured me he thought it was nothing to worry about, but suggested I get myself home to the UK as early as possible. A few days later I was back home, made an urgent appointment to see my GP where I was examined; while I was there, the doctor faxed over an urgent referral to see a specialist and get my first ever mammogram and scans done.

On the day of the mammogram and scans, the first thing the consultant did was perform a physical check on both breasts. Once done, he asked me to get dressed and come back into his consulting room.

I sat down and he said, “Kemi, I’m sorry to tell you this, but I believe you most likely have breast cancer.” I sat there and just stared at him blankly, and all I could muster was “but there is no lump.” He confirmed that as a specialist he could definitely feel something there and that I could have checked my breasts every day and would never have felt or noticed what was there.

He said I acted quickly and praised me for leaving my holiday as lots of people would have either dismissed their findings or not have even noticed it at all. He then sent me off to get the mammogram and scans done then return back to his office to discuss the findings.

When I returned to the specialist’s office he sat me down and turned the computer screen to show me the findings of the mammogram and scans. I stared at the screen and he first showed me the left breast, which wasn’t affected. Then he showed me the scan of the right breast; a white clear cloudy looking image completely covered the right breast. He took my hand and said, “Kemi, you are young and healthy and we found it early. More importantly, you acted as soon as you noticed something was wrong.” He sent me home and said to wait for a call inviting me in for a biopsy.