A woman whose GP dismissed a breast lump as a blocked milk duct compared her diagnosis of stage four incurable cancer to being in a ‘haunted house with clowns and chainsaws’.

But Shanice Bennett, 26, said she is determined to carry out herbucket list in the years she has left by “living the best life” she can. On TikTok she said of her diagnosis as the ‘scariest house’ she’d ever been in: “When I walk into a haunted house, but instead of clowns and chainsaws, it’s the moment they told me my cancer has come back at 24 years old but it’s incurable this time and I’m now on palliative care and will belucky to make it to 30.”

She went to her doctor after noticing a small lump on her right breast when she was in the shower and was assured it wasn't cancerous and most likely a blocked duct. Shanice said her GP told her because it was painful and it moved it definitely wasn't cancerous and was because of her periods.

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But four months later, in May 2023, the police officer demanded a further examination after the lump grew larger, and became more painful. She said she 'begged' for a referral. She had a scan and was told she had stage three cancer and surgeons removed her breast and the lymph nodes in her arm.

Following extensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy Shanice believed she had recovered, until June 2024, when she was rushed to A&E with unbearable back pain. Medics told her the cancer had not only come back, but spread to her bones and become stage four incurable cancer.

It has now spread to her lungs and liver, and a part of her spine has partially collapsed due to the cancer. Shanice, from Sittingbourne, Kent, said: “It got to the point one day where I woke up in the night and the pain was just unbearable. The next day I couldn’t get out of bed or sit up or dress myself.

“Still at that point I didn’t really expect anything. I thought that I had slipped a disc or maybe done something to injure my back. My first diagnosis, when I walked in and the Macmillan lady turned around, I had kind of expected it. It was still quite a shock. It never fully sinks in.

“But my second diagnosis I didn’t expect at all. Because I was young and I went through all the treatment I just thought I would be fine.”

The cancer has since spread to her spine, causing part of the vertebra to collapse, as well as her pelvis, skull, liver, and lungs. She is now making the most of her years left, going to as many concerts as she can and has created a travel bucket list, which she is sharing on TikTok.

Shanice has visited Rhodes twice, taken her nephew to Disneyland Paris, gone to New York, and attended her mum's wedding.

She said: "I am currently on my second line of treatment, once this treatment stops working, there aren’t many good options left for me that will continue to allow me to live my best possible life. Everyday I feel as though I’m living on borrowed time."

She also has several shows booked for next year including some of her favourite musicians James Arthur and Ariana Grande.

Shanice said: “There is nothing that I can do. The situation is out of my control. So, sitting around being sad won’t actually change anything.

“If I did just mope around I’d look back on my life and feel annoyed at myself that I spent so much time worrying about it and not doing the things I want to."

Shanice is still employed as a police officer, but hasn’t been able to work for just over a year, which has devastated her as it had always been her dream job from childhood.

She has also raised £2,000 through Gofundme of her £2.8 target.

Shanice added: “At the hospital I am in a group, but I can’t relate to anyone there. I am the youngest person in the cancer ward, with everyone else about 50-60 plus.

“Obviously for everyone going through cancer it is equally hard, but I find being younger is definitely more difficult because you haven’t been able to experience life as much.

“I used TikTok for that, to find out how people my age were coping with treatment. When I was diagnosed with stage four, I decided to start posting to see if I could help other people.

“It has been nice to be able to connect with people my age across the country and be able to speak online. I have made friendships that I never would have if I hadn’t started it.”

Gofundme here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/living-the-best-life-i-can-with-stage-4-breast-cancer?attribution_id=sl:242093e7-dfb6-466f-9d4b-3b62444c1cb6&lang=en_GB&ts=1762073669&utm_campaign=man_sharesheet_dash&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link