I thought I’d popped a boob after falling over an ugly metal blind – two days later, my life changed forever

FOR a split second, I flew through the air, before landing on the floor with a thump.

Looking up at my daughter’s worried face, I smiled, joking that I thought I’d popped a boob. I had no idea that trip was about to save my life. 

It was April 2018 when I went to help my daughter Lauren, now 32, move into her new flat. There was an ugly metal blind the sellers had left in the bay window.

I’m not a clumsy person, but as I tried to pull it down, my feet got tangled in the long, looping cord. One second I was upright, the next heading for the floor. 

It took a few seconds for me to realise what had just happened. Lauren and I were both pretty shaken that I’d just missed hitting my head on a concrete storage heater, but thankfully I was OK, apart from one of my F-cup boobs, which had been seriously squashed when I’d landed on it.  

Two days later, I was lying in bed when I thought about my fall again. My breasts weren’t sore, but I thought I’d better have a quick feel to make sure there wasn’t any damage.

That’s when I found a golf-ball-sized lump at the bottom of my right breast. 

I didn’t tell anyone I was going to the GP – it seemed silly to worry them over a bruised boob.

I was still calm when I told my husband Graham that the doctor had referred me for scans at the hospital. It was only during a biopsy 13 days later that the panic crept it.

Surely I wouldn’t need this if it was just a bruise? Then the consultant told me that there was a 50/50 chance that I had cancer, but they’d know more when the results came back in 10 days. 

The shock was so great, I immediately went into denial. I was too young for cancer. I had two children, Lauren and her younger brother Kieron, 30, who needed me.

I didn’t tell them anything, even as we celebrated my 48th birthday a few days later. 

Returning to hear the doctor say: ‘I’m afraid it’s cancer,’ I immediately replied: ‘You’ve got the wrong script.’ It seemed impossible. It was only when they gave Graham and me a minute alone that the tears came.

The children were devastated. I explained that doctors were going for a cure and it would involve chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy.

It was a huge relief when further scans found the cancer hadn’t spread, however it was an extremely aggressive type. 

Before, I’d hardly ever thought to check my boobs, so if I hadn’t fallen over that blind, I’d never have spotted the lump – then where would I have been?

‘So thankful’

The fear hit in strange moments, like watching a travel show with Graham about Croatia and suddenly realising I might never go on holiday again, or that I might not live to see Christmas. 

Physically, the treatment was rough. I had chemo between June and November 2018, then surgery to remove the lump in December, and radiotherapy began in January 2019.

But I was so thankful for my amazing family. We joked and laughed constantly, which was how we always got through tricky times. 

I began blogging after my diagnosis. It was the perfect way to express my emotions, and to keep people updated without having to constantly talk about it.

In October 2022, I turned my blog into a book, and it was amazing to hear from other women on their cancer journeys. 

I just want to make the most of the second chance that fall has given me

Thankfully, my treatment was successful. I’m still on medication, but I had my last yearly mammogram in July 2023, and in December I was discharged from the breast clinic.

Cancer has changed me. I’ve done mad things, like paragliding off a mountain in Turkey and abseiling from the top of a hospital to raise money for Colchester & Ipswich Hospitals Charity.

I try to say yes to things now, even if they scare me. I still think about how lucky I was to land flat on my face in Lauren’s flat.

If it wasn’t for that ugly metal blind, I might not be alive now. I just want to make the most of the second chance that fall has given me. 

• But Seriously, Who Knew? My Cancer (And Other Bits) Story by Melanie Green is available at Amazon.co.uk.