Postpartum depression survivor discovers stage III triple-positive breast cancer after missed check-up
A mother battling postpartum depression skipped routine exams until a shaving cut led her doctor to find stage III breast cancer.
After giving birth in August 2022, Ameilia Boodoosingh Gopie experienced deep postpartum depression, leaving her husband to care for their infant for eight months and causing her to miss scheduled health appointments. Nearly two years later, an infected shaving cut prompted her primary-care doctor to arrange a mammogram, which returned abnormal findings. She received a cancer diagnosis on Christmas Eve, identifying stage III triple-positive breast cancer with lymph-node involvement.
Treated with chemotherapy, double mastectomy, radiation and additional chemo, she endured side effects such as hair loss, nausea and intense headaches. Throughout treatment she kept video diaries and wrote letters to her daughter, and she has since undergone reconstructive surgery while continuing hormone therapy.