A woman had to pay for her own mammogram as her GP wanted to just prescribe her antibiotics as she was under 40 – only to discover she had cancer.
Ariba Karim discovered a lump in her right breast on August 31, after experiencing chest pain on that side of her chest for the two months prior.
Ariba went to see a private GP the next day [September 1], and after examining the lump, she claims the doctor told her they ‘didn’t think it was anything to worry about because she was under 40’.
The 32-year-old says she was diagnosed with an infected cyst and prescribed antibiotics and painkillers.
But still worried, Ariba requested a red flag cancer referral from the GP, which would mean she would receive further testing on the NHS within two weeks.
However, she claims the doctor refused to do this and offered her an urgent referral instead, which she was told had a wait time between 30 and 40 weeks.
Instead, Ariba paid more than £3,000 to have a biopsy and mammogram done privately two days later [September 3].
Cafe owner Ariba received the devastating diagnosis of stage one breast cancer two weeks later.
Last week [October 6] Ariba started the first of six rounds of chemotherapy to treat the grade three cancer, which means that it is fast-growing, but fears she ‘could have been dead’ if she had listened to the GP.
Ariba, from Ashford, Kent, but now living in Northern Ireland, said: “The private GP had a look at it [the lump], and he said he didn’t think it was anything to worry about because I’m under 40.
“I was crying, and I told him I was worried, but he said because I’m under 40 it’s rare to have cancer.
“He thought it was a cyst, so he gave me antibiotics and painkillers.
“He refused to do a red flag referral, and he said he would do an urgent referral on the NHS, but it would take 30-40 weeks. I asked him for a private referral, and he said he was happy enough to do that.”
Ariba had a biopsy and mammogram taken at a private clinic two days later [September 3].
Two weeks after that, she received the devastating diagnosis of breast cancer.
Ariba said: “I had to wait two weeks for my results; the waiting was really tough; it was hell.
“The consultant told me it was breast cancer, and my dad put his arms around me, and I just burst into tears. I couldn’t believe that I was being told this.
“I didn’t think it was going to happen to me – you don’t think you’re ever going to be told that you’ve got breast cancer.
“It was really, really tough; I just felt like my whole life had been taken away.
“I had to pay privately for that appointment [where the tests were done] – I paid £3,000 just to be told that I had cancer.”
Ariba had been experiencing chest pain and unexplained bruising since June 2026, prior to finding the lump in her breast.
Ariba said: “I was getting breast pain in the breast which had the cancer, which was my right breast, and I was getting the pain pretty much daily.
“It was like a sharp, stabbing pain, or sometimes it would be a dull ache.
“It would last half a minute, then there was one day in particular when it happened for half an hour.
“I thought it might just be hormonal and that it was my period, but it was happening every day basically.
“I was getting bruises all over my legs, and my arms, and I was sleeping a lot – I think I thought maybe it was iron deficiency, but I was sick because my body was fighting the tumour.”
Ariba has now started the first of six rounds of chemotherapy treatment, but fears she ‘could have been dead’ if she had listened to the GP and the diagnosis had been left any longer.
Ariba said: “I’ve started what will hopefully be the first of six rounds of chemotherapy then if the tumours are not fully gone at the end, then I will have surgery to remove them.
“One of the things that I was crying about [when I received my diagnosis] was the thought of what if I had listened to the GP, what if I had taken those antibiotics and thought nothing of it.
“I genuinely could have been dead – it [the cancer] could have progressed to stage four.”
Ariba is now urging other women to check their breasts regularly and to advocate for themselves.
Ariba said: “Don’t let anyone [dismiss] you, as women we get [dismissed] all the time.
“Women are given a really strong intuition for a reason; it’s basically survival. If something doesn’t feel right to you, please follow your gut.
“Make sure you’re checking your breasts every week. [At least] every month you should be checking to see what they feel like – it could save your life.
“Also don’t ignore things like breast pain – be aware that it’s a sign [of cancer] and it’s something you should be aware of.”
The GP has been contacted for comment.
WHAT IS BREAST CANCER?
Breast cancer is cancer that starts in the breast and is the most common type of cancer in women in the UK.
Symptoms of breast cancer include a lump or swelling in your breast, chest or armpit, a change in the skin of your breast, such as dimpling or redness, and a change in the size or shape of both or one breast. Treatment includes chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
