Tanja Levý found breast lump during Tenerife family holiday

Tanja Levý discovered a lump in her breast while on a family holiday in Tenerife with her partner, Jökull Jónsson, and their son, who was nearly one year old. She was still breastfeeding and initially hoped it was a blocked milk duct, mbl.is reports.

Levý contacted her midwife in Iceland, who advised her on how to try to clear a possible blockage. When that did not work, the midwife booked her a doctor’s appointment for the day after the family returned home.

After seeing the doctor, Levý was sent for screening and a biopsy. “That was when I began to suspect something more serious might be going on,” she said in an interview on Dagmál, an mbl.is programme.

Levý was diagnosed with breast cancer in October last year, aged 36. She and Jökull had been on parental leave for a year and were preparing to return to work when the illness disrupted their plans.

The couple run the design studio Stúdíó Plútó together and designed this year’s Pink Ribbon while Levý was undergoing treatment. They said the work helped them process their experience. A crack in the ribbon’s design represents the shock of the diagnosis and the treatment that followed.