Mom Avoided Doctor Over Fear of Being Judged for Breastfeeding Her Son, 3. She Later Received a Stage 3 Breast Cancer Diagnosis

“When I received the cancer diagnosis it was earth-shattering news — we weren’t ready,” said the mom of two

NEED TO KNOW

• Helen Christopher, a mom of two, put off seeing a doctor for pain in her right breast because she feared being judged for breastfeeding her 3-year-old son
• Helen later learned she had stage 3 breast cancer
• The cancer spread to her lymph nodes and neck, putting her on a palliative care path

A mom avoided the doctor because she was worried about being “shamed” for breastfeeding her 3-year-old son — and it turned out she had cancer.

Helen Christopher of Oxfordshire, England, began experiencing pain in her right breast in the spring of 2024, according to Kennedy News.

She said she assumed it was just mastitis, a treatable condition that causes inflammation in the breast tissue, explaining that she had experienced it while breastfeeding her first child.

"I breastfed my eldest for three years, and this one for three years, so I just felt very confident that it was mastitis again or maybe a blocked duct,” Helen said.

She also said that she was worried about her doctor judging her for still breastfeeding, which was another factor in her decision to put off an appointment. 

"I had times where the medical professionals have been a bit judgmental about extended breastfeeding,” she explained. "I was like, 'I know I'm going to go and it will be something like a blocked duct, someone will tell me not to breastfeed and it will just be an annoying conversation that I don't need to have.’"

Helen, who was a full-time caretaker for her children, said she “didn't have the headspace to go in and be judged [and] feel shamed.”

However, the pain progressed to the point where she could no longer ignore it.

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“There was a gnawing, continual pain and it started to get uncomfortable to wear a sports bra,” the mom recalled.

She ultimately got a scan in July 2024 and learned that she had stage 3 breast cancer.

"When I received the cancer diagnosis it was earth-shattering news — we weren't ready,” Helen said. "You never think it is going to happen to you. It was really, really surprising but not in a good way."

She underwent a mastectomy in January 2025, followed by chemotherapy, which doctors believed had successfully put her cancer in remission.

However, three months later, further tests revealed her cancer had returned to her lymph nodes and neck — a diagnosis which she said was in some ways even harder than the first.

"When you have cancer the first time around you are on a curative pathway so the idea is that they're treating you to a point where you are cured,” Helen said. "When it comes back at that point it is no longer curative, you are then on a palliative pathway.”

"It is no longer about ‘Can we get you better? No cancer.’ It's about how many years can we keep you alive and comfortable. That's incredibly hard news to deal with when you've got two young children and you want to be there to bring them up,” she added.

Helen began researching her options, and she found an experimental immunotherapy treatment in Germany which she believes could extend her life — but at a hefty out-of-pocket cost. 

She has since set up a GoFundMe to help raise money for the new treatment — something that she admits was hard for her.

“On one hand, I feel uncomfortable asking for money because I know I am privileged to have even found these options,” Helen wrote on the fundraising page.

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“On the other hand, I am essentially a guinea pig for a new way of tackling this disease and I am using my experience to share knowledge and hope with others. I am always open to talking with people in the same position as me and feel privileged to be able to share what I’ve learned and potentially improve their outcomes,” she continued.

She added, “I dream of being well enough to help other patients access these kinds of treatments more easily, so that no one has to fight this hard just to find options."

"I truly believe these approaches will become available to everyone in the future — but my boys need me now," Helen further said.

According to Helen, she and her husband, Nick Christopher, have already downsized their home and are using their savings to pay for treatment, but they know the funds won’t last forever. 

“Any amount you can give, no matter how small, genuinely makes a difference to our family,” she added, before thanking her supporters for “giving me a fighting chance to be here as my sons grow up and, one day, to help others find their own way through this too."

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