A Yorkshire woman has just months to live after receiving a shock diagnosis of terminal cancer — despite suffering none of the traditional symptoms.
Laura Wharam, 38, was first hit with the disease in 2021, after noticing a growth on her breast, but opted for a double mastectomy that put her safely into remission.
She was fit, active and back to full health — until earlier this year, when she began to feel under the weather.
Her symptoms were similar to that you experience with a cold or flu; loss of appetite and disabling exhaustion, which she thought little of.
But then, a few weeks later, her skin began to gradually turn yellow in colour.
Ms Wharam was suffering with jaundice — a life-threatening condition that happens when the liver fails to excrete toxins from the body, resulting in yellow skin and eyes.
Her partner, 35 year-old Jake Watt, a visual merchandiser, assumed she was suffering appendicitis — and the couple rushed to the hospital.
After a series of tests, doctors delivered the earth-shattering news that Ms Wharam’s breast cancer had returned, and this time spread to her lungs, bones and liver.
Ms Wharam’s partner, 35 year-old Jake Watt, a visual merchandiser, assumed she was suffering appendicitis
Doctors told the couple that she may only survive a few months.
‘It was the worst possible news. It’s such a shock to the system,’ Mr Watt said of the devastating news.
‘I’ve cried everyday since the diagnosis. It’s been such a whirlwind.
‘Laura’s cancer is incurable but she’s having chemotherapy to try to slow it down.
‘Doctors have said the worst case scenario is a couple months, the best case scenario is a couple years.
‘There’s really no uncertainty at the moment. I’m someone who likes to have things planned out months in advance but now it’s all day-by-day.
‘Laura and I haven’t yet talked about everything moving forwards.’
Ms Wharam has been exceptionally ‘strong’, Mr Watt said.
‘She’s from Yorkshire — and Northern girls are built differently.
The couple got engaged in 2021, the year of Ms Wharam’s initial diagnosis of the disease
‘She’s only 5ft. I always say I don’t know how they fit so much strong in her.’
Now, as Ms Wharam is unable to work, her partner has set up a fundraiser to start preparing for her end-of-life care.
‘I’m really not good with asking people for anything. It’s probably a pride thing,’ he said.
‘But it became a last resort because I want to make sure Laura doesn’t go without.
‘We just want to alleviate that financial burden.’
Only between three and 15 per cent of breast cancer patients who undergo a double masectomy will see their disease return within the decade, studies show.
It is even less common for the cancer to crop up again within five years.
If it does happen, the most common warning signs are a lump or swelling in the chest, armpit or collarbone — as the disease may have spread to the lymph nodes under the arm.
A change in skin texture like puckering or dimpling is another sign, as is redness or rashes in the area near a masectomy scar.
However, if the disease has spread to other organs, feeling constantly tired and weight loss are common symptoms, according to charity Breast Cancer Now.
Some types of breast cancer present without a lump.
Inflammatory breast cancer, for instance, is usually characterised by swelling and redness of the breast, pain and sometimes changes to the nipple.
Meanwhile lobular breast cancer, which makes up about 15 per cent of cases, usually causes a thickening, swelling or dimpling in the skin, or an inverted nipple.
However some women with lobular breast cancer will experience a lump, according to Cancer Research UK.
