My dog and I both had breast cancer with the exact same treatment -…

It’s a devastating flip of occasions that most people could not fathom, yet the expertise has strengthened their connection immeasurably.

Vickie Doogan, 52, obtained her initial breast cancer diagnosis at 39 after discovering a lump in her left arm. Fortunately, chemotherapy proved efficient and she recovered. But at 44, cancer struck again, prompting her to bear a double mastectomy to cut back the probability of a third prevalence.

Following this, she welcomed Dolly, a poochon – a Bichon Frise and Miniature Poodle combine – to keep her company during the therapeutic course of. Seven years later, in February 2026, their positions reversed when Dolly obtained her own breast cancer diagnosis during a veterinary go to for abdomen troubles.

Vickie, who works as a recruiter in Ascot, Berkshire, recalled: “When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer, I was absolutely floored. I was 39, fit, healthy, and there was no lump in my breast. Chemo was brutal but thankfully I responded well to it.”

“In 2018, when I was recognized again, I just could not consider it. I came upon I have the altered BRCA2 gene, which means I’m more predisposed to breast cancer, so I had an elective double mastectomy. The surgical procedure was superb; I had implants put in the next day,” the Mirror reported

She added: “I got Dolly after my second diagnosis to be my buddy, as I was at home a lot. She’s like my shadow, she’s the most perfect little dog.”

“In February 2026, I took Dolly to the vet as she had an upset stomach, and they found a lump under one of her nipples. The vet said she needed to have a mastectomy, I was so shocked, I didn’t even know dogs could have mastectomies.”

Fortunately, Dolly recovered from her process just as efficiently as her proprietor.

“People said it’s like she’s mirroring how I dealt with it,” Vickie said. “Now I’m living my best life again, it’s all in my past. I want people to know that although breast cancer is scary, you can still live a really full life.”

Vickie initially detected one thing was fallacious in November 2013 after noticing a persistent ache beneath her arm. Initially dismissing it as probably swollen glands, she found a lump and her instincts prompt one thing more critical.

Her GP referred her to a breast care unit for additional examination, where a biopsy confirmed invasive breast cancer that had unfold to her arm.

The news shocked Vickie, given her fitness stage and the absence of any noticeable breast lump. Treatment began straight away with eight cycles of “brutal” chemotherapy, adopted by a lumpectomy to extract the remaining cancerous tissue.

Following 15 periods of radiotherapy and 18 months of month-to-month estrogen blockers, Vickie was thrilled to obtain affirmation she was cancer-free. She began reclaiming her life, but her fifth yearly mammogram in 2018 introduced devastating news: the cancer had come back. Subsequently, genetic testing revealed she carries the modified gene.

“It made perfect sense to me; I was glad to have some reasoning behind it,” Vickie explained. She returned for further chemotherapy and selected to bear a double mastectomy to cut back the probabilities of recurrence. The process was profitable, and Vickie obtained reconstruction surgical procedure on the same day.

In parallel, Dolly required a “doggy mastectomy” to remove the cancer, and thankfully, given its low grade, no further treatment was obligatory. Both are now cancer-free and thriving.

Vickie options among those impacted by breast cancer in Breast Cancer Now’s latest tv marketing campaign. Recent data reveals that almost a million people are at present residing with or past a breast cancer diagnosis in the U.Ok. – a quantity anticipated to exceed 1.4 million by 2050.

The group has pledged to stay “Breast Cancer Now until we’re Breast Cancer Never” – aligned with its formidable aim that by 2050, everybody recognized with breast cancer will survive and thrive.