Former Arsenal player Jen Beattie MBE praised her teammates for their incredible support during her breast cancer journey. The Scottish defender was diagnosed in October 2020, aged 29, while the UK was at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and described the diagnosis as a “complete shock”.
Support from teammates
Recalling the support she received from her teammates during her “hardest battle”, Jen even let players touch her lump to educate them on how one feels. She still regularly receives messages from other players letting her know they have been checked for breast cancer.
Jen said: “The biggest thing for me is they knew exactly when I wanted to be open about it and wanted to share, ask questions and be curious. I never felt alone. I was lucky to be in a very empowering environment with a group of women. We were all quite open to sharing what we’re going through personally, professionally, absolutely everything.”
Impact on teammates and personal routine
Jen’s experience led to more of her teammates getting themselves checked, but she admitted checking her breasts was not something she did deliberately prior to her diagnosis. However, breast checks have now become an intentional part of her routine after she learned ‘how to do it properly’.
Following her cancer diagnosis, Jen played for Arsenal three days later, where she scored the winning goal against Brighton. She said: “I still get emotional about it now because at that point it wasn't public. I wanted to feel like I could still go through life and be myself, and that for me was on the pitch. It's one of those weird moments, I'm a centre-back, I don't score many goals and that weekend I did. That picture is still one of my favourite pictures because it was the team getting around someone going through a really difficult time.”
Campaign and awareness
Jen is now an ambassador for Novartis UK, which has organised and funded Check Her Out, a disease awareness campaign, in partnership with leading breast cancer charity Breast Cancer Now. The campaign aims to inspire women to put themselves first when it comes to their health and encourage regular breast checking.
Former Lionesses captain Millie Bright MBE is also supporting the campaign as an ambassador for Novartis. Millie's grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer aged 60, had a recurrence a few years later, but is currently living cancer-free. Her grandmother’s diagnosis has since encouraged Millie to be comfortable checking her breasts for any possible signs of breast cancer.
Manveet Basra, associate director public health inclusion and awareness at Breast Cancer Now, said: "Finishing treatment is a significant milestone. But breast cancer can return months or even years after initial diagnosis, yet many are unaware that the disease could come back. This uncertainty can take a significant emotional toll, with 81 per cent of primary diagnosis breast cancer patients reporting a fear of recurrence, and 20 per cent saying it affects their relationships and overall quality of life."
Jen also highlighted the importance of staying in tune with your body after a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, and understanding your personal risk of recurrence. She said: “The best thing you can do is go to appointments, talk to your doctor and keep getting checked up.”
With no family history of the disease and in the prime of her footballing career, being diagnosed with cancer was not something which had ever crossed her mind. She said: “I felt fit, I felt healthy. But I felt the lump and I was worried about it. I knew something didn’t feel right. In those moments you have to trust your gut and go and get it checked because it might be nothing – but it also might be something. Before, I was quite an anxious footballer, I would get quite stressed, get really nervous, but when you go through something life altering like that, none of that matters, health is number one.”
Manveet Basra added: "There's no set frequency in terms of breast checking, but it's all about thinking when it fits in with your self-care routine. You need to get to know what your breasts look and feel like, what's new and what's normal. It only takes a few minutes and there's no right or wrong way to do it, provided it's done regularly. It could be while you're getting dressed, showering or applying moisturiser."
