Dover Mom Beats Stage 3 Cancer, Urges Early Breast Checks

A breast cancer survivor from Dover is turning her second chance at life into a lifesaving campaign for women everywhere.

Abigail Chirwa thought her weeks of headaches and nosebleeds were just stress. When she finally went to the hospital in October 2023, doctors found a lump under her armpit and diagnosed her with stage 3 breast cancer. She was only 42.

"The day I was told I've got breast cancer I wasn't the same," Abigail said. "I think I died somehow."

What followed was a year of relentless treatment. Six rounds of chemotherapy, 21 sessions of radiotherapy, 18 rounds of immunotherapy, three surgeries, and countless other procedures. The aggressive treatment left her unable to work at the care home where she'd been employed.

But in January 2025, Abigail entered remission. Now she's partnering with Breast Cancer Now to share a critical message: check your breasts regularly, and don't wait until symptoms feel serious.

Her campaign comes at a crucial time. New figures from YouGov show that only 43% of black and South Asian women in the UK check their breasts regularly for lumps. That's the same percentage who admit they don't check at all, while 14% have never checked for signs of breast cancer.

"It's a myth that only women over 50 can get breast cancer," Abigail warns. She was diagnosed in her early 40s, proving that cancer doesn't follow age rules.

Why This Inspires

Abigail's story matters because early detection genuinely saves lives. The earlier breast cancer is caught, the better the treatment options and survival rates become. Yet cultural barriers and lack of awareness mean too many women in black and South Asian communities aren't checking.

Manveet Basra from Breast Cancer Now explained that while there's been a slight increase in awareness over the past two years, these communities still lag behind the wider UK population in breast self-examination rates.

Abigail refuses to let those statistics stand. She's speaking out publicly, sharing her journey, and making checking your breasts sound less scary and more routine.

"Don't wait until it's too late to get checked," she said. "The earlier it's detected, the better the chance of fighting it, like I did."

Her final message rings with the authority of someone who's walked through fire and emerged stronger: "The day you're diagnosed with cancer, you're a survivor from that day. You need your strength and hope to know other people have walked that path and survived it."