A grandmother of eight was diagnosed with breast cancer after noticing an indentation in her breast that was only visible when she raised her arms to blow-dry her hair. Karen Peterman, 67, from Bushey, Hertfordshire, spotted the unusual dimpling on the underside of her left breast in June 2021 while drying her hair at home during the pandemic. She immediately contacted her GP, leading to a referral and an MRI that confirmed grade two, stage one breast cancer.
Discovery During Hair Routine
Peterman, a bookkeeper, was unable to visit her hairdresser due to COVID-19 restrictions and was blow-drying her hair topless in front of a mirror. When she lifted her arms, she noticed an indentation she had never seen before. Lowering her arms made it disappear. She recognized the dimpling as a potential sign of breast cancer from a poster she had seen during a previous mammogram. "Because of covid, there was no going to the hairdressers, so I was sitting blow-drying my hair in front of the mirror. When I raised my arms it was very apparent that there were indentations and I was aware that dimpling can be a sign of breast cancer," she said.
Diagnosis and Treatment
Peterman was referred to a consultant who suspected cancer immediately. A mammogram initially showed nothing, but an MRI revealed a concealed lump. She underwent a lumpectomy in August 2021, followed by five rounds of radiotherapy. Genetic testing showed she had a mutation in the CHEK2 gene, which is more common in people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, rather than the more well-known BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. She now has annual MRI scans and mammograms and has been cancer-free for five years.
Importance of Checking Breasts in Different Positions
Peterman emphasized that her discovery was accidental because she normally would not check her breasts with her arms raised. "If I had checked my breasts the way you normally do, I wouldn't have found it. I'm a big fan of sharing my story so people can be aware that they should also raise their hands above their heads and look in the mirror to check their breasts," she said. She noted that the dimpling was only visible when her arms were above her head, which is not part of a typical self-examination.
Manveet Basra, associate director of public health, inclusion and awareness at Breast Cancer Now, highlighted the charity's TLC message: touch your breasts or chest, look for changes, check anything new or unusual with a GP. "Learn the signs and symptoms of breast cancer at breastcancernow.org/checking," she advised.
Genetic Mutation and Awareness
Peterman's CHEK2 gene mutation is less well-known, and she has had to educate others about it. "Surrounding the genetic mutation I have, it's not very well-known and there isn't a lot of research. I've had to educate a lot of people along the way, about what I have and what it means," she said. Her diagnosis came as a shock to her daughters, Lucy, 40, and Emma, 37, who were devastated. Peterman coped by not dwelling on it: "My coping mechanism was just not to mention it, I didn't want to be defined by it and I didn't want sympathy."
