A brave mum-of-two who had previously battled cancer was told by her doctor that she was overreacting when she found a lump in her breast. Despite having no other symptoms, Haley Richardson, 38, an emergency room nurse, insisted on getting it checked due to her past experience with the disease.

“The doctor tried to diagnose me as having a cyst,” she said. “He told me I was too young to have breast cancer, that I had no family history to be concerned with, and that I was overreacting. He told me to get it rechecked in six months.”

She added: “I had to fight with him to get a simple mammogram. No woman should ever have to fight for proper healthcare.”

Her determination likely saved her life as she underwent a bilateral mastectomy and endured months of chemotherapy and radiation. She finished treatment in December 2023.

“The exact thought that went through my mind when I was diagnosed the second time was: ‘Well, sh*t, this is going to suck’,” she said.

Haley, from the US, is a mother to Madison, 14, and Cooper, 9. She also has a one-year-old Boxer pup named Leilani, a treat they got after completing chemotherapy, reports Bristol Live.

“The worst symptom for me during chemo wasn’t the nausea, the extreme fatigue, or even the hair loss. The worst was how chemotherapy stole my independence,” she said. “I’m pridefully independent, and there were days I couldn’t even walk down the stairs without someone holding my hand. Chemo unleashed an emotional warfare on my body that I had never experienced. It was debilitating.”

She said an unexpected symptom of the treatment was her teeth turning brown and feeling sore. It also affected her skin.

“I was able to save about 30% of my hair. But the hair saved was so damaged that I ended up cutting it off completely,” she said.

She faced further devastation with the unexpected death of her father, a paramedic, from cancer shortly before she began her treatment. And doctors later called to say her pathology report had shown positive margin, meaning some of the cancer still remained.

She said: “When he died, aside from grieving the loss of my father, I felt I had lost the one person close to me I could speak medically with. It was an isolating experience.” The chemo affected her mental health and made her want to stop the treatment.

She said: “I was constantly fatigued, hated life, and was ready to quit chemo altogether. As I’m telling my oncologist and my husband that I was done, as tears poured down my face, it was like my dad was there whispering in my ear to keep fighting. To fight for him and all the people who never got the chance to fight.”

After the mastectomy she said her body felt “broken” and “foreign”. When the doctors told her the cancer still remained, she chose to go back into surgery, with surgeons taking what was left of her breast tissue.

Haley has had to contend with the myths and misconceptions surrounding breast cancer treatment. Expressing her frustration, she said: “The biggest misconception is that a mastectomy is a free boob job.

“That actually angers me when people say, ‘Well, at least you get a boob job out of it!’ It’s ignorant, rude, and highly insensitive. A mastectomy is like an amputation.”

She is now set on helping others despite her struggles. And she wants to tackle misleading claims around so-called miracle cancer diets that purport to cure the disease.

“These so-called cures exploit vulnerable people, using fear-mongering tactics,” she said. “They lack rigorous scientific evidence and have not gone through peer-reviewed studies. I understand why people want to believe they work – they’re desperate for hope.

“But taking advantage of desperate patients is wrong.” Instead, Haley advocates for self-care grounded in science and self-compassion, with techniques including touch therapy for nerve regeneration and healing.

Reflecting on the positives of her ordeal, she said: “During my cancer journey, I kept having one consistent thought: If I am this anxious and lost and I am a medical professional going through this, I can’t imagine what people with zero medical knowledge must be feeling.

“It truly broke my heart knowing that’s a terrifying reality so many women go through. I felt God put me in a place to help women with cancer through their own journeys.

“Through education, promoting advocacy, and giving real genuine support, I will keep being there for the cancer community. Because no one should have to fight alone.”

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