Radlett mum taking to the catwalk to raise awareness of breast cancer

A mum who was diagnosed with breast cancer just five months after giving birth, at the age of 25, is spreading the message that the disease can strike at any age.

Jodi Wilson, of Radlett, is set to take a turn on the Breast Cancer Care catwalk at the charity’s celebrity-hosted London fashion show at Grosvenor House Hotel next Wednesday, October 7.

She is one of 32 models, including three women also diagnosed in their 20s, at the fundraising event.

Now aged 27, Jodi explained that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013, shortly after having her son.

She said: “I was taking a shower when I found a tiny lump, the size of a bead, near my nipple. The doctor said it was probably a blocked milk duct, as I had just had a baby.”

But, as women on her father’s side of the family had a history of breast cancer, she pushed for tests.

A week after her biopsy Jodi was stunned to learn she had the disease, as she had assumed abnormal genes could only potentially be passed through the maternal side.

She had a double mastectomy, followed by six rounds of chemotherapy.

Jodi’s message to other women - including those who are younger - is to check their breasts as early as possible, especially after pregnancy.

In the UK around 55,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer annually, 5,600 of whom are women under the age of 45.

To buy tickets to next Wednesday’s show and for more information see www.breastcancercare.org.uk/fundraising/show-london