The story of Alice Greaves strikingly illustrates the importance of listening to patients and early detection of breast cancer. This 27 -year -old Briton is today fighting metastatic cancer that could have been diagnosed much earlier if her symptoms had not been neglected by the medical profession.
In November 2022, Alice Greaves, then aged 24, discovered a size in her breast, says the Sun. Worried, she contacted her general practitioner who categorically refuses to examine him, invoking her young age. “I was told that I was too young to have breast cancer and that it was nothing serious,” she says. The practitioner attributes his symptoms to a muscle injury linked to his intensive sports activities.
For three months, Alice accepts this erroneous diagnosis and trusts medical expertise. It was not until February 2023, after a close friend was diagnosed with breast cancer that she decided to insist with her doctor. “I went back to doctors and I demanded to be seen, which is not normal for me,” she explains. Physical examination then reveals reality: Alice suffers from stadium breast cancer.
A fierce battle against the disease
Alice’s therapeutic journey began in March 2023 with chemotherapy, followed by a double mastectomy “which saved his life” in August of the same year. Despite 16 treatment cycles, the new fell in May 2024: cancer increased in stage 4 and spread to the lungs.
The situation is still worsening in March 2025 when doctors discovered brain metastases. Alice must undergo emergency surgery to remove the tumor from the brain. “Theoretically, cancer is now removed from my breasts and my brain, only in my lungs,” she explains with remarkable optimism. Currently on therapeutic break since her brain intervention, she is expecting the results of her next scanner scheduled for the coming weeks.
Breast cancer: an increasing global concern
Alice’s story is part of an alarming epidemiological context. Globally, breast cancer represents a major health challenge with 2.3 million new cases diagnosed in 2022 in women, causing 670,000 deaths. The projections for 2050 are particularly worrying: experts anticipate a 38 % increase in cases, with 3.2 million new annual diagnoses and 1.1 million deaths.
In France, the figures of 2023-2025 confirm this worrying trend. Breast cancer remains the most frequent in women with 61,214 new cases in 2023 in mainland France. Fortunately, mortality continues to decrease thanks to therapeutic progress and organized screening: 12,757 deaths were identified in 2022 and the 5 -year survival rate now reached 88 %. The median age at diagnosis is at 64, but Alice’s case recalls that this disease can affect much younger women.