m in a difficult position and would really appreciate your insight.
Someone I know has told only two people — and sworn them both to secrecy — that she has bilateral breast cancer with lymph node involvement and is refusing all treatment. She also claims she hasn’t eaten in over two weeks.
Despite this, she continues to:
- Work physically demanding jobs 6 days a week (7am–5pm),
- Care for horses and dogs until 9 or 10pm most nights,
- Stay up chatting online until 2am,
- And shows no visible signs of illness — no fatigue, weight loss, or hospital appointments.
She refuses to tell her employer, her children, or anyone else. She doesn’t seem to have close friends, and the secrecy around her health feels very deliberate.
She also claims she left nursing by choice years ago, but I’ve confirmed through the NMC that she was actually removed from the register by and FtP panel.
She first told me about this in May, saying it was picked up during a routine mammogram, she couldn’t physically feel any lumps at the time but the mammogram apparently picked one up. She later said it was in both breasts and had spread to the lymph nodes. By late July, she claimed she could now physically feel a lump — and more recently says she can feel multiple lumps.
I’m trying to understand whether what she’s describing is medically and physically possible, especially given the level of physical activity she’s still managing.
Could someone with advanced bilateral breast cancer, involving lymph nodes and no treatment at all, really be functioning like this? And if her story is true — how long would she realistically be looking at, untreated?
Any professional insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.
