Mother says influencer saved her life with breast cancer diagnosis (2024)

A mother of three who was told by two different doctors that the lump in her breast was most likely a cyst has opened up about how an influencer saved her life by sharing her own breast cancer battle.

CarliWilliams, 33, from Texas, found a small lump in her breast last year but was assured it wasn't breast cancer. She sought out a second opinion after it began to grow and thicken, but she was once again told it was probably a cyst.

It wasn't until YouTuber and model Delia Chatwin shared that she was diagnosed with stage 3 invasive breast cancer at the age of 28 that Williams pushed for a mammogram and learned she hadstage 2 ductal carcinoma breast cancer.

'Because Delia posted and because I listened to my own intuition about my own body, I'm going to be in a position now where I'm going to be alive for my kids and I'm going to be OK,' Williams told Good Morning America. 'I've seen the ugly side of social media and this has been a beautiful side.'

Williams, who now has more than 80,000 Instagram followers of her own, has taken a cue from Chatwin and is using her own social media platform to raise awareness for the disease.

When the fitness trainer first pointed out the lump to her doctor, she was told she could get an ultrasound if she wanted, but as a working momwith a daughter, Navy, andidentical twin sons, Knox and Wells, she never followedup.

'I was like, "She told me I did not have breast cancer and I'm not going to go out of my way to schedule this,"' she recalled thinking.

Williams went to get a second opinion several months later after the lump started to grow, but she was once again assured she was 'young and healthy.'

She was told it was most likely a cyst — not breast cancer— and was advised to keep monitoring the lump. She might have ignored her intuition that something was wrong if it wasn't for Chatwin.

Seeing the influencer's posts about her breast cancer diagnosis shortly after seeking a second opinion about the lump in her own breast is what sprung Williams into action.

'My spirit was screaming at me that I needed to call them back after I saw Delia's stories because I'm like, "Wait, she's young and healthy. She's not a candidate. She's not in the statistics,"' Williams said.

'And right when I went into mammography they're like, "This is very concerning." The tone of the conversation switched very quickly.'

The mammogram and follow-up tests revealed that she had breast cancer, and ithad metastasized to her lymph nodes.

Williams, who underwent chemotherapy and a mastectomy after her diagnosis, has since struck up a friendship with the influencer and credits her with saving her life.

Chatwin, who is now 29, had been diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2021 after doing a self-breast exam, but she didn't share her story on social media until that April.

She told GMA that she was 'in a place of numbness' for several months, but she realized she would be 'doing a disservice' if she continued to keep her diagnosis private.

'It was really, really hard putting myself in a vulnerable place like that, but I am so thankful that I did,' she said.

Chatwin and her husband, Dylan Chatwin, found fame through their YouTube channel, which has more than 156,000 subscribers.

Over the past year, she has shared videos documenting her cancer treatment, including her double mastectomy, radiation, chemotherapy, and breast reconstruction.

She also opened up about her experience on Instagram, where she has more than 37,000 followers, including Williams.

Together, they are sharing their stories in the hope that other women in their 20s and 30s will not ignore the signs of breast cancer and advocate for their own health, even if their concerns are initially dismissed by doctors.

Most breast cancers are found in women who are 50 years old, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but the disease can strike at any age.

The Cleveland Clinicreports that 5 percent of breast cancer cases occur in women under 40 years of age.

Diagnosing breast cancer in women under 40 is more difficult because their breast tissue is generally denser and routine screening is not recommended.

The disease can also be more aggressive in younger women and less likely to respond to treatment.

'[Doctors] kept saying, "You are so young and healthy," and I am, and Delia is young and healthy and she had it,' Williams told GMA. 'Just because you're young and healthy, it doesn't matter.'