A WOMAN diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 28 is urging people to help fund research for the disease amid the pandemic.

Samantha Amos from Portslade discovered a small lump in her breast last June.

The 29-year-old said: “I was lying in bed when I felt a shooting pain in my breast. I rubbed it and felt a lump.

“It’s scary because if I’d never had that shooting pain, I would never have known. I never checked my breasts.

“I don’t know what it was that caused the pain that made me react so quickly – my mum says it was an angel – and I’ve never had pain since.

The Argus: Samantha recently released a new video, one year on after she found the lump in her breastSamantha recently released a new video, one year on after she found the lump in her breast

“But I’m glad it happened. When you are in your 20s, you don’t expect to get breast cancer. Since then, I never stop telling people to check themselves – it’s so important.”

Samantha, who has no history of breast cancer in her family, went to see her GP the next morning and was referred to the breast clinic at Worthing Hospital for tests. She had to wait two weeks for results but was called in for an MRI scan before they arrived.

Samantha said: “The scan scared me. That’s when it hit me they might be talking about cancer.”

Samantha had an operation in August and it was confirmed she had an aggressive type of breast cancer known as Her2 positive.

She immediately went online to do some research and decided to start a video blog about life going through chemotherapy.

Samantha said: “There are lots of issues that come with cancer, such as fertility, so I was trying to reach out to other people about them.

“I felt I wanted to share and somehow help others, so I decided to start documenting what was happening to me. I joined Twitter where there seemed to be an active community.

“I didn’t have a plan. I downloaded software, added music and starting video blogging.”

Samantha quickly gained a large following on her Twitter, Instagram and Youtube channels.

She said: “I think people appreciate the honesty. I’d put on weight, I was losing my eyebrows – I looked like an egg. But the video I did for my fifth round of chemo got 61,000 likes.”

The Argus: Samantha with her dog Archie, who was a great comfort during her treatmentSamantha with her dog Archie, who was a great comfort during her treatment

Samantha’s treatment involved cisplatin, a drug which Cancer Research UK played a crucial role in developing.

Now she is urging her supporters to fundraise for the charity, which currently funds around 50 per cent of all cancer research in the UK.

Samantha said: “The huge amount of money Cancer Research UK has lost during the pandemic means research has been affected, and that could have very serious consequences for people with cancer in months and years to come.

“But we can all help to lessen the future impact on patients by doing something now to help raise money.

"It would make a real difference to people like me.”

After a year of chemotherapy, Samantha finished her treatment six months earlier than expected and is now cancer-free.

She said: “I’m now a ‘normal’ human being which is great but it’s also surreal and hard to move on from it.

“Having practically lived in hospital for the last year, I’m also feeling anxious.

"I wish I could snap out of the whole cancer bubble but you still have to fight with your appearance – short hair, bad skin and looking pale.”

To follow Samantha's story on social media, visit her YouTube channel.

To donate to Cancer Research UK, go to cancerresearchuk.org.