Here is what it took to finally be heard
Experts warn that too many young people face difficulties in accessing tests and follow-up care during a period when every delay could prove critical.
By Kevin Jiang Science and Life Reporter, and Megan Ogilvie Health Reporter
Toronto Star
June 20, 2026
When Beth Marchant first felt a lump in her left breast in the summer of 2022, she chalked it up to a blocked milk duct.
Marchant, a then-32-year-old marketing professional based in Cambridge, was breastfeeding her seven-month-old daughter and felt she was in excellent shape. Still, her family doctor insisted on an ultrasound after she reported the lump.
That scan revealed eight separate growths in Marchant’s chest — not just in her breast, but in her lymph nodes and arm.
Her doctor immediately referred her to specialists at multiple hospitals. But Marchant said she never heard back on when she could get the tests needed to confirm whether the growths were cancerous. As the weeks passed, she said she felt an “all-consuming” pit of worry burrow into her gut.
“Because I was younger, it wasn’t seen as an emergency,” Marchant said. “It was kind of like, ‘Oh, this young lady’s just looking for screening’ — even though I had abnormal ultrasound results already.”
Read more at the Toronto Star (Pay wall)
