32-Year-Old Woman Says Her Breast Implants Saved Her Life After Noticing Itchiness & a Lump. It Turned Out to Be Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Speaking to Kennedy News & Media in a recent interview, as per the Daily Mail, Gardiner recounted her story, “I found a little lump and got itchiness in my right breast. I thought it was a cyst or damaged tissue.

“I saw a female doctor, she felt my breast, said it was very small, and that maybe it was an infection.  She did a referral anyway just to make sure it was okay and thank God she did that.”

She was informed she had breast cancer just three weeks later.

Offering more insight into her diagnosis, she explained, “It’s small, it’s only 17cm at the moment but I think because the breast implants I have are quite big, you can notice the implant more because it’s pushing it forward.

‘I think that helped find the lump because they say to check your boobs and you know if you have lumpy boobs that something isn’t right.I can’t put into words how I felt. The first thing I asked was, ‘am I going to die?'”

RELATED: What You Need to Know About Breast Cancer 

Looking back on how she had her breast implants put in back in 2014, she is curious as to if a rupture in her breast led to her cancer diagnosis, adding, “I kept getting kidney and water infections and I went to have a full CT scan, which found my right breast had ruptured.”

Gardiner, who will soon find out what her treatment plan will consist of and admits to only experiencing fatigue as her other symptom, continued, “It’s such a coincidence that [the cancer] happened in my right breast where it ruptured.”

She concluded, “I’m waiting to hear from my consultant to find out if I need to have a lumpectomy, a mastectomy, chemo or radiotherapy. I don’t feel unwell, I feel tired but I wouldn’t know that’s there.

“Apart from the lump I wouldn’t know it’s cancer.”

Gardiner is using her story to encourage others to get their breast checks and not wait to get screened.

She advises, “If you have any little thing, if you feel something isn’t right, go straight to the doctors and get it checked. Don’t wait. Don’t leave it. Even if you feel a bit silly.”

Understanding Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer is one of the most aggressive forms of the disease and makes up for approximately 20 percent of all breast cancers. The treatment approach varies from patient to patient and may include a combination of different treatments.

Early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) treatments may use a combination of chemotherapy drugs.

For example, a CMF regimen is an abbreviation for combining chemotherapy drugs cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil. AC stands for doxorubicin (Adriamycin) with cyclophosphamide, and ACT just indicates that a taxane drug is added to the regimen. Likewise, TC is an abbreviation for a regimen of Taxotere and cyclophosphamide.

RELATED: In Triple Negative Breast Cancer, New Drug Trodelvy Extends Life

In 2021, the FDA approved the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab for the treatment of early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is already used to treat other cancers, including melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer. Doctors heralded the FDA’s approval of pembrolizumab as a potentially paradigm-shifting advancement in breast cancer treatment.

For patients with stage 2 or 3 TNBC, adding the immune-boosting medication pembrolizumab to combination chemotherapy before surgery increases chances of living free of breast cancer, explains oncologist Dr. Sylvia Adams, director of the Breast Cancer Center at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center.

She was one of several researchers involved with the pembrolizumab trials. “It changes the standard of care and should be discussed with all patients diagnosed with stage 2-3 TNBC,” she adds. “Yes, it’s a game-changer, though there is much more to be learned.”

The First Immunotherapy Approved For Breast Cancer Hope For Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Is Your Cancer Really Triple-Negative?

Dr. Heather McArthur, Clinical Director of the Breast Cancer Program at Simmons Cancer Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has spoken with SurvivorNet on this relevant topic.

You might be told you have triple-negative breast cancer, that means that your cancer is not being fueled by any of the three main types of receptors: estrogen, progesterone nor the HER2 protein. But now you could be categorized as HER2 low instead of HER2 negative.

RELATED: Vegas Showgirl Dances Her Way Through Treatment for Triple Negative Breast Cancer 

Breast cancer cells with higher-than-normal levels of HER2 are called HER2-positive, those with low levels of HER2 are (or were) called HER2 negative. Recently, however, researchers have looked to further expand this definition to include patients that have a minimal amount of HER2 expression but do not meet the classic definition for HER2-positive tumors. This group has been called HER2 “low” and is very important as it represents almost 50% of all patients with breast cancer.

This excitement stems from the fact that HER2-low breast cancers are targetable with a recently new FDA-approved Enhertu (Fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki). It appears that Enhertu is extremely effective for appropriate patients and can greatly improve their quality of life and help them live longer.

Therefore, it is exceedingly important to discuss with your physician about your HER2 status.

Learning About Breast Implants

It’s important to understand that there is a possible link between breast implants and cancer; specifically between implants and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), a cancer of the immune system. Researchers don’t know if the implant filling (i.e. saline or silicone) impacts the development of ALCL.

Meanwhile, Breast implant illness (BII) is a condition with symptoms that include fatigue, joint pain, memory and concentration problems, and more, says Breastcancer.org. Experts believe this condition is due to having an autoimmune reaction to the breast implants.

Breastcancer.org notes that BII is a separate condition from the types of cancer, which are rare, that can develop in scar tissue and fluid surrounding a breast implant, including breast implant-associated large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), other forms of lymphoma, and squamous cell carcinoma.

According to the FDA, the lists associated with all FDA-approved implants include:

• Additional surgeries
• Breast implant associated-anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL)
• Systemic symptoms, Breast Implant Illness (BII)
• Scar tissue that squeezes the implant
• Breast pain
• Rupture (tears or holes in the shell) of saline and silicone gel-filled implants
• Deflation of saline-filled implants
• Silent (no symptoms) rupture of silicone gel-filled implants
• Infection

“The silicone used for breast implants is different than injectable silicone. Injectable silicone is not FDA-approved for breast augmentation, breast reconstruction, or for body contouring,” the FDA explains.

RELATED: “My Breast Implants Gave Me Cancer”: Mom Of Three’s Warning To Women

In an earlier interview, SurvivorNet spoke with Dr. Andrea Pusic, Chief of Plastic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, about the safety of implants. She says, “Many years ago there were concerns about silicone implants, and silicone implants were taken out of the U.S. market.”

Dr. Pusic continues, “Subsequent to that there were a number of very large studies that gave us new information about the performance of silicone implants.

“Subsequent also to that, there’s been further improvements in the silicone implants we are able to offer patients. If that implant does leak, the silicone would rarely go anywhere, and it won’t make you sick.”

RELATED: New Worldwide Recall for Textured Breast Implants What Women Who Have Them Should Know About Their Cancer Risk

She says that implants are generally safe, but that they require surveillance, too.

Are Breast Implants Dangerous?

Doctors Weigh In On Breast Implant Concerns

In an earlier interview with SurvivorNet, Dr. Sarah Cate, the lead physician for the Special Surveillance Breast Program at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, and Dr. Jordan Jacobs, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, discussed breast implant concerns for survivors of breast cancer, following the release of FDA safety communication. The FDA received 10 medical device reports (MDRs) about squamous cell carcinoma and 12 reports about various lymphomas connected to breast implants.

Doctors Cate and Jacobs told SurvivorNet, regarding the FDA safety communication, “personally don’t think there is cause for alarm.”

The doctors believe the data shared by the FDA does not conclusively tie breast cancer to implants. Although, the pair does say, “the fact that the cancers were found in the implant capsules is certainly concerning and requires further investigation.”

Dr. Cate and Dr. Jacobs note how the FDA has required the placement of warnings on breast implant packaging. Additionally, there is newly an implant checklist that patients must sign and review before undergoing implant surgery. The doctors noted how ALCL, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, has been associated with implants for years.

The doctors affirmed that textured implants, those linked to ALCL, are not used at Mount Sinai. The doctors also note that implants require monitoring, and that if there are an adverse conditions spotted after the implants, they should be reported to the FDA.

Saline vs. Silicone Implants

Dr. Cate and Dr. Jacobs tell SurvivorNet, “Patients who have implants placed for either cosmetic or reconstructive purposes should have yearly follow-ups with their surgeons.”

They add that “there are recommendations from the FDA for routine (every 2-3 years) MRIs to evaluate the integrity of the implant and the surrounding capsule.”

If you do find yourself in a situation where an evaluation of your implants is needed, you will undergo a physical exam and imaging studies “to evaluate the implant shell integrity, determine if there is fluid around the implant and visualize the implant capsule.” Most breast radiologists can perform sampling fluid, as well, so that the fluid can be examined to see if there are any abnormal cells present.

“Surgical management includes removal of the implant and the surrounding capsule, which is sent to pathology to rule out atypical cells and/or cancer,” Dr. Cate and Dr. Jacobs added.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

If you are struggling with body image and mental health, here are some questions you may consider asking your doctor:

• Are there interventions beyond medication for my depressed or anxious feelings?
• How can I go about finding and nourishing positive emotions?
• What can I do if I’m struggling to maintain a sense of positivity?
• What lifestyle factors can I adjust to feel better mentally?

Oncologist Dr. Elizabeth Comen On How Body Image, Sexuality, & More May Change After Cancer Treatment

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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