Julie Brinklow, of Ellon, Aberdeen, first noticed the odd bulge at the end of 2022.
Julie Brinklow(Image: Julie Brinklow / SWNS)
A woman says she had thought an unusual bump on her chest had been caused by playing the bagpipes – but it turned out to be breast cancer.
Julie Brinklow, of Ellon, Aberdeen, first noticed the odd bulge at the end of 2022.
But the 52-year-old thought it was just a muscle that had become more prominent from her bagpiping.
Julie is Pipe Major of Grampian Police Pipe Band and he official piper for City of Aberdeen’s Lord Provost.
She hadn’t planned to get the issue checked out, but after nagging from her partner, she visited the GP in January 2023.
Julie playing her bagpipes(Image: Julie Brinklow / SWNS)
After having been referred to a breast specialist as a precaution, she had a mammogram, ultrasound, biopsy, and a tomography before being finally handed her diagnosis in March.
The doctor said then that Julie had cancer, which would later be confirmed as grade two lobular breast cancer.
She said: “It was something that I wasn’t concerned about, I didn’t feel that there was anything abnormal, I just maybe felt it was something that I hadn’t noticed about my own body before.
“The reason I wasn’t alarmed is because it wasn’t the textbook small hard lump, it just felt like I had a bigger muscle there or something.
“I thought to myself that maybe I was just lopsided because I play the bagpipes and you flex your chest muscles a lot when you play.
“They sat me down and a brochure was pushed towards me as I was told ‘you have breast cancer.’
Julie was diagnosed with breast cancer in March(Image: Julie Brinklow / SWNS)
“As the day had gone on I was getting more concerned, so I had built up a bit of anticipation that they must be seeing something.
“So, when the news dropped I had a slight inkling that they were about to say it, but it was still a big shock. It took me a moment to really hear everything that was being said. My mind was in a spin.”
Luckily, after further testing, it was revealed that the cancer hadn’t spread throughout her body, so treatment could be focused in the right breast.
In April 2023, the business owner had a double mastectomy, as the cancer was estrogen positive and she didn’t want any chance of it coming back.
Since surgery, Julie has also undergone an intensive course of radiotherapy on her chest which has left some soreness and tiredness.
Despite still being on estrogen blockers, she is now back to full mobility and is playing the bagpipes just like before.
Julie said: “Following surgery I was out walking for miles every day. You could say I walked myself better.
Julie is hoping to raise awareness of breast cancer signs and symptoms(Image: Julie Brinklow / SWNS)
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“Lots of women don’t get their full mobility back, and when you play the bagpipes you really do need to be able to raise your arms up above your head.
“I am still improving all the time. It is a very slow process. But I am back to doing everything that I used to do.”
Now, Julie is trying to help others who are going through the same thing and encourages anyone who needs someone to talk with to reach out.
She is also hoping to raise awareness that breast cancer doesn’t always appear in the form of a small hard lump, and you should always get checked if you spot a change in your body.
She added: “The thing that sticks in my mind is that I wasn’t worried about it, and I should have been. I probably wouldn’t have done anything about it if I hadn’t been nagged.
“A tumour doesn’t have to be a small hard lump, it can be something that just feels like a thickness that you haven’t noticed before, like part of your body.
“Don’t delay in getting checked out if you think there is something different or that you haven’t noticed before.”