A mum-of-two who discovered a lump in her breast was told by her doctor she was overreacting, despite having had cancer before.
Haley Richardson, 38, had been successfully treated for an unrelated cancer seven years earlier and had been feeling fine.
But despite being unconcerned about the lump as she had no other symptoms, she decided she should get it checked out. “The doctor tried to diagnose me as having a cyst,” Haley, an emergency room nurse, says. “He told me I was too young to have breast cancer, that I had no family history to be concerned with, and that I was overreacting. He told me to get it rechecked in six months.”
“I had to fight with him to get a simple mammogram. No woman should ever have to fight for proper healthcare.”
Refusing to back down probably saved Haley’s life. She underwent a bilateral mastectomy and endured months of chemotherapy and radiation, finishing treatment in December 2023. “The exact thought that went through my mind when I was diagnosed the second time was, ‘Well, sh*t, this is going to suck,'” she says.
Haley is mum to 14-year-old Madison and 9-year-old Cooper. Their family also includes Leilani, a one-year-old Boxer pup – a gift they gave themselves after completing chemotherapy.
“The worst symptom for me during chemo wasn’t the nausea, the extreme fatigue, or even the hair loss. The worst was how chemotherapy stole my independence,” she said. “I’m pridefully independent, and there were days I couldn’t even walk down the stairs without someone holding my hand. Chemo unleashed an emotional warfare on my body that I had never experienced. It was debilitating.”
“My most unexpected symptom was that my teeth started turning brown. And they were sore all the time. Post-chemo, they are mostly back to normal. But I do have one tooth that is still a bit darker-shaded than the rest. I notice it in my videos all the time.”
“I’ve had patients in the ER who were on chemotherapy and based on that and my training my skin, hair, and nails did what I expected them to. My skin always looked in bad shape no matter how well I took care of it. My nails, while they didn’t fall out, were constantly sore.
“My hair was dry and brittle. I did a cold cap during chemotherapy. I was able to save about 30% of my hair. But the hair saved was so damaged that I ended up cutting it off completely.”
Life also threw Haley another devastating blow. Just before starting chemo, her father, a paramedic, died unexpectedly from cancer. “I became an ER nurse because of him,” she says. “When he died, aside from grieving the loss of my father, I felt I had lost the one person close to me I could speak medically with. It was an isolating experience.”
Halfway through chemo, depression hit hard. “I was constantly fatigued, hated life, and was ready to quit chemo altogether. As I’m telling my oncologist and my husband that I was done, as tears poured down my face, it was like my dad was there whispering in my ear to keep fighting,” she says. “To fight for him and all the people who never got the chance to fight.”
Her father’s memory pushed her forward. But so did her children, Madison, 14, and Cooper, 9. “What keeps me going is the two amazing humans who look up to me. They see how I respond, and I only want to set them up for success in life.”
Recovery has been a long road, and it hasn’t come without its challenges. “Right after my mastectomy, my body felt broken. Foreign. Like I had been assaulted,” she shares. And just when she thought she was in the clear, doctors called to say her pathology report showed positive margins – meaning they hadn’t removed all the cancer.
“I chose to go back into surgery, and the surgeons took what was left of my breast tissue.”
Haley has also had to navigate the painful myths and misunderstandings around breast cancer treatment. “The biggest misconception is that a mastectomy is a free boob job. That actually angers me when people say, ‘Well, at least you get a boob job out of it!’ It’s ignorant, rude, and highly insensitive,” she says.
“A mastectomy is like an amputation. A part of your body is being taken away, and not by choice.”
Despite all she’s been through, Haley has made it a mission to educate others. She’s particularly vocal about the myths surrounding ‘miracle cancer diets’ that promise to cure the disease. “When I see people post about these miracle diets, I internally cringe. These so-called cures exploit vulnerable people, using fear-mongering tactics.
“They lack rigorous scientific evidence and have not gone through peer-reviewed studies. I understand why people want to believe they work – they’re desperate for hope. But taking advantage of desperate patients is wrong.”
Instead, Haley focuses on self-care that is rooted in science and self-compassion. “I believe in touch therapy for nerve regeneration and healing. When you have a mastectomy, the nerves to your chest area are severed. Massaging my surgical scars helps promote blood flow, reduces scar tissue formation, and helps with mind-body connection.”
As for pain management, she takes a holistic approach. “I’ve always had a difficult time with narcotics. They make me nauseated, constipated, and overall make me feel awful. So I made the personal choice to use acetaminophen and ibuprofen as tolerated. I also practice mindful rest – drinking tea, watching TV, reading a book.”
Looking back, she knows she’s changed – but for the better. “Self-care for me now is not sweating the small stuff and realising mostly everything is small stuff.”
Through it all, Haley has found her purpose and documents her experiences on TikTok. “During my cancer journey, I kept having one consistent thought: If I am this anxious and lost and I am a medical professional going through this, I can’t imagine what people with zero medical knowledge must be feeling,” she says.
“It truly broke my heart knowing that’s a terrifying reality so many women go through. I felt God put me in a place to help women with cancer through their own journeys. Through education, promoting advocacy, and giving real genuine support, I will keep being there for the cancer community. Because no one should have to fight alone.”