**From Perfect to Pain: My 27-Year-Old Life Turned Upside Down by Grief and Stage 3 Cancer**

• Chloe Haynes received a devastating diagnosis of stage 3 cancer
• You can donate to Chloe's fundraiser here

At the start of 2025 Chloe Haynes ' future felt busy in the best possible way.

The special-education teacher and her partner Tom were saving for their first home, mapping a long-awaited trip to Japan , and quietly hoping to start a family by Christmas .

Then, during a summer swim, Chloe brushed her hand beneath her left arm.

'I was fixing my swimmers and I felt a small little lump, the size of a pea,' Chloe, from Newcastle, told FEMAIL.

Her mum and sister, who is a nurse, reassured her it was just a lymph node, so Chloe agreed and pushed the worry aside.

Everything changed in March. Her 21-year-old brother died in a sudden traumatic accident and Chloe rushed home to Gloucester, taking six weeks off work to help plan the funeral and spend time with her grieving family.

'I was very stressed. I noticed the lump had grown, but I thought, my lymph nodes are probably flaring up because I'm grieving,' the 27-year-old said.

By the end of May the bulge under her arm was unmistakable. When her sister finally saw it, she 'panicked' and ordered Chloe straight to a GP.

Soon after, an ultrasound technician fell silent, ushered in colleagues, and sent Chloe for an emergency mammogram and biopsy.

The call came the next afternoon as she shepherded students back from an excursion.

'The doctor said, "Chloe, I've got the results… is now a good time?" But I told him if he was ringing me in the middle of my work day, I knew it wasn't good.'

He confirmed stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer that had 'already spread excessively' to her lymph nodes.

Chloe has no family history of cancer and couldn't even get a referral for a mammogram at first because she was considered 'too young' for the killer disease.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for about 10 to 15 percent of all breast cancers.

It differs from other types in that it tends to grow and spread faster, has fewer treatment options and usually has a worse prognosis.

This type of breast cancer has an average 77 percent five-year survival rate, but depending on the stage of the cancer, that rate can be as low as 12 percent.

Triple negative cancers do not respond to hormone therapy or to the targeted therapy drugs used for other cancers.

'I just went completely numb,' Chloe said, recalling how she crumpled in the school office and sobbed in the principal's arms.

'I haven't been back to work since.'

Only 24 hours earlier, Chloe and Tom had signed off on their first mortgage approval.

'We had actually been approved for a home loan the day before my diagnosis,' she said. 'We went back to the broker and said no. I'll be out of work for 12 months.'

'We thought we were going to have the house, the babies… all the fun, exciting things you're hoping for when you're 27. Now it's all pushed back by cancer.'

Their Japan itinerary is cancelled; a visit to her best friend in England postponed. The travel fund now pays for petrol, parking, and hospital bills.

Because chemotherapy could leave her infertile, Chloe was rushed into egg retrieval last week.

'It was really important for me to have one shot at saving that chance. If this round doesn't work, I don't have time for another,' she said.

The moment doctors finish collecting her eggs, she begins six months of 'intense' weekly chemotherapy - sometimes three infusions a week - alongside year-long immunotherapy. Surgery will follow, perhaps a mastectomy; radiation may come after that.

Chloe's parents, still raw from losing their son, drive two hours from Gloucester for every appointment.

'I don't know how Mum and Dad are doing it, but they drop everything for me,' she said.

Tom takes unpaid days off to sit beside her in waiting rooms; the Gloucester Soccer Club raised $5,000 in a single weekend; an online appeal organised by friend Ella grows daily .

Yet Chloe lies awake wondering how to cover rent and groceries.

'I've got no leave left - I used it all when my brother died,' she admitted.

'I hate that I'm stressing about money when I should be focusing on surviving.'

Life that once raced from classroom to dinners, soccer matches and weekend getaways has slammed to a halt.

'I used to be go, go, go. Now I'm waiting between medical appointments. It's very different - and I'm scared.'

She forces herself to find tiny joys: sunrise at the beach, craft videos on YouTube, lunch with a friend before her strength fades.

'I'm trying to flip it: these are terrible cards, but maybe I'll discover something that helps me relax.'

Chloe is clinging to the dream that next year, when the IV drips are gone and her hair begins to grow back, she and Tom can restart the life they mapped out: a modest house, a Japan rail pass, a baby's first kicks.

For now, Chloe takes each day as it comes.

'I'm trying to stay as positive as I can,' she said

'Everything is on hold - but I have to believe it's not gone forever.'

What are the common symptoms of breast cancer?

• Breast lumps
• Changes in size or shape of breasts
• Changes to the skin including dimpling, a rash or puckering of the breast
• Changes to a nipple such as turning in or just feeling different to usual
• Abnormal nipple discharge
• Inflamed breast where your breast may look red or swollen
• Hard breasts
• A red, scaly rash on the breast
• Breast pain

Source: Cancer Council Australia

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