Alex Cheshire‑Round diagnosed with stage‑three breast cancer while pregnant

Alex Cheshire‑Round, a 29‑year‑old sales professional from Nuneaton, discovered a hardening in her right breast at 24 weeks of her second pregnancy and initially thought it was early milk production. Encouraged by her husband Tom, she sought medical advice; biopsies and scans in early June confirmed stage‑three breast cancer.

On 14 July at Coventry Hospital, surgeons removed a 5 cm tumour and extracted lymph nodes from under her right arm. Five minutes after she awoke, her newborn daughter Lexi became distressed, prompting a second operation; Lexi was delivered at 33 weeks, weighing 4 lb 13 oz. Alex is awaiting further treatment, likely chemotherapy, and expressed concerns about fertility and the impact on her two young children.

The case highlights the challenges of diagnosing and treating breast cancer during pregnancy, especially for women under 40, and underscores the importance of early medical evaluation of breast changes.