A 28-year-old mum-of-two is campaigning to raise awareness of the risks cancer can pose to the under-30s after being diagnosed with the disease.

Kimberley Birkett, from Herne Bay, found a lump after feeling pain shooting through her left breast.

Following a series of appointments, ultrasound, MRI and CT scans, as well as a biopsy, she was told she had cancer on September 7.

“When you breastfeed, you get a shooting sensation through your boob and it felt like that but with pain in it as well,” she said.

“In my ultrasound, the doctors found another lump in my lymph node underneath my armpit.

“I took a friend with me to the Kent and Canterbury Hospital when I was given the results. She got more upset than me; I’d been taken over by shock.”

Kimberly has been diagnosed with three types of cancer so far – including grade-three invasive ductal carcinoma and metastatic carcinoma.

When she first told doctors about her lump, they thought, because of her age, it would be benign. More than 80% of breast cancers occur in women over 50.

“My doctor said he was truly shocked when he gave me the diagnosis because he thought I was too young,” Ms Birkett said.

“Mammograms aren’t normally available for women under the age of 30 because you’ve got denser breast tissue, but I’ve now had one.”

She is awaiting further results which will reveal whether the disease has spread further.

“I’ve had to get to grips with it because I’ve got two children. I can’t sit and mope around because they will know there’s something wrong" - Kimberley Birkett

Despite not knowing the full extent of it, she was given her first course of chemotherapy yesterday and is due to undergo a mastectomy on her left breast and fertility treatment.

“It’s a kick in the teeth,” Ms Birkett added. “I hope it hasn’t spread, but there’s the chance it has. I worry a lot.

“I’ve had to get to grips with it because I’ve got two children. I can’t sit and mope around because they will know there’s something wrong.”

Fuelled by the fear of her children – Violet, two, and Reuben, four – seeing her lose her hair, she has decided to shave her head.

“I don’t want them to see hair on my pillow and I don’t want to pull clumps out when I run my hands through my hair.

“It would take away my dignity. I would rather shave it off, have control and not notice it.

“I also want to make young people aware that they can get cancer. Everyone needs to check themselves. If you think something’s wrong then it usually is.”

The shave will take place on Friday, October 26, at the Prince of Wales pub in William Street.

Ms Birkett originally hoped to raise £750 for Macmillan Cancer Support, but, after raising more than £500 in just four days, she is aiming to generate even more.

To donate, visit Kimberley's Brave the Shave page.