Girl vs Cancer HOW ONE YOUNG WOMAN’S DIAGNOSIS LED TO A FEISTY ONLINE COMMUNITY HELPING OTHERS
But Lauren did have breast cancer. An aggressive 2.8cm grade-3 cancerous lump had set up residence in her right chesticle, without consent, and sent her life as she knew it into a tailspin.
Lauren Mahon has never been a big fan of her boobs. As she says, they’re more of a nod to a boob, a goodwill gesture. So on the August 31, 2016, when a doctor uttered the words, ‘I’m sorry, it’s not good news, it’s cancer,’ she was sure they were having a laugh. Surely this must be the universe’s idea of a cruel joke. Right? Firstly, Lauren was 31 – far too young and full of fun to be dealing with this kind of crap, she thought. Secondly, she asked herself, how could she have breast cancer when she DIDN’T HAVE ANY B*STARD TITS?!?!
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Desperate for some reassurance and carcinoma companionship, Lauren went looking for advice and encouragement from like-minded women who had faced the C-bomb. What she found were doom saying online communities and clinical materials aimed at women in a more advanced life stage. It didn’t speak to her. Not at all. Fed up with the perception that cancer is a disease for the over fifties, Lauren decided to grab her breast cancer diagnosis by the boobs and began sharing the nuances of her cancer-beating crusade on her blog and Instagram under the hashtag #GIRLvsCANCER. Her aim was to share the tales of her treatment in an authentic and
