It was late on a Monday night last September, after returning home from dinner with a friend, when I found the first lump. I was putting on my pyjama top when my hand grazed over what felt like a big, juicy grape at the bottom of my right breast.
“Oh my god,” I said out loud, as a jolt of terror shot through my body. It must be cancer, I thought as I prodded the smooth, round swelling that rolled around underneath my skin. But then I remembered the interview I’d done a couple of weeks before (I’m a freelance journalist who specialises in health and wellbeing) with a breast cancer surgeon, who’d said most lumps are benign.
I knew there was nothing more I could do at 11pm on a Monday, so I tried to put it out of my mind and went to bed, then sprang into action the next morning, quickly booking an appointment at a private hospital – I couldn’t face the prospect of dealing with NHS waiting times.
Initially, I was loath to ask AI about the lump in case I read something worrying, but I’m glad I caved the next day. ChatGPT told me that smooth, symmetrical lumps that move around are usually benign, which made me feel better when I discovered a second, smaller lump next to it the next morning, and two more in my other breast.
