Dhiman was diagnosed with breast cancer nine years ago at the age of 33 – a diagnosis that came as a surprise due to the concerning nature of how breast cancer is often advertised as an “old woman’s disease”.

“It came out of the blue and I had no idea of what breast cancer looked like in younger women,” she admits. “I always thought it was the disease of the older woman and think it’s hazardous to pitch an illness as an older person’s illness because you just don’t resonate with the disease or give it a second thought that it could land at your doorstep.”

Dhiman was initially told by her GP not to worry despite having an inverted nipple and had to “insist” on a referral before being diagnosed.

“My GP said to me that it wasn’t cancer and that I didn’t need to worry about it. But I insisted on a referral to a specialist unit where they found two very clear lumps behind that nipple. I always think had I not pushed that GP I could not be here right now. I think there needs to be a degree of caution and education in what they say when a younger woman lands a potential sign of breast cancer. It’s not good enough just to say you’re too young for a mammogram.”

Breast cancer: “what it’s like to have breast cancer as a young South Asian woman”