Sarah Earhart, a transitional kindergarten teacher from the US, has candidly shared the symptoms she experienced before her breast cancer diagnosis. Known online as Courageous at Heart, Sarah, 40, was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, grade 3, stage 2A, in January 2025. She made the decision to chronicle her journey in hopes of helping others facing similar circumstances.
Invasive Ductal Carcinoma is defined by Johns Hopkins Medicine as a type of cancer that occurs when “abnormal cells grow in the lining of the milk ducts change and invade breast tissue beyond the walls of the duct”.
Breastcancer.org states that it’s the most prevalent form of breast cancer. Stages 1, 2 and 3 refer to early stages where the cancer hasn’t spread beyond the breast or the lymph nodes in the underarm on the same side as the breast cancer. Grade 3, or high grade, indicates a faster-growing cancer than grades 1 and 2, and it’s more likely to spread.
The mother of two, who is currently undergoing treatment for the disease, reflected on “a few” symptoms she had noticed retrospectively that led to her diagnosis. These are:
From August 2024, Sarah began “getting sick a lot”. However, given her profession teaching young children aged five and six, she initially dismissed it, attributing it to the germs that circulate during the school year.
She said: “I got pneumonia a few times, I got bronchitis, and I just could not get rid of them.”
Despite being prescribed steroids and antibiotics, she found that nothing helped her to fully recover.
Describing another symptom, she said: “I would get hot flushes to the point where I would wake up and I had sweated through the entire bed sheets, my pyjamas, all of it. And that was not normal for me.”
At the time, Sarah attributed these symptoms to peri-menopause.
Sarah, being a teacher, is no stranger to fatigue, but she spoke of an exhaustion that was far more severe. “I was coming home from work and immediately sitting down, and then I would sleep all the way until the next morning without waking. And this had happened multiple times,” she explained.
It was then that she told her husband that “something wasn’t right” and that she felt unlike herself.
In a concerning turn of events in October 2024, a blood test revealed that Sarah had macrocytosis – a condition characterised by enlarged red blood cells. After some time, they conducted another test only to find the same result, with the cells having grown “a little bit bigger”.
Yet, even after consulting with a haematologist oncologist, the cause of her symptoms remained a mystery.
In November 2024, Sarah discovered a “grape sized lump” in her right breast during a routine check. Alarmed by her finding, she swiftly arranged an appointment with her obstetrician-gynecologist who agreed that a mammogram and ultrasound should be scheduled without delay.
Come December 2024, Sarah underwent a biopsy for the suspicious lump, and by January 2025, the results confirmed Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.
As detailed by Breastcancer.org, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma may not always manifest symptoms. However, you could spot a lump on your breast in some cases.
Other signs includes:.
Should you have any of these symptoms, sense an unusual lump or swelling in your breast, chest area, or armpit region, or experience persistent pain, speak to your GP immediately.
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