Woman of the Week: Melissa Lammas

When Melissa Lammas, a mum of two, first started experiencing breast pain in December 2019, her doctor diagnosed mastitis as she had a six month old baby. However, when the pain didn’t respond to treatment, Melissa knew something was wrong.

“I knew this wasn’t an infection and I kept phoning and making appointments with my GP until they agreed to refer me to the breast clinic. By this time I noticed a dimpling on the top left of my breast,” she says. A biopsy confirmed her fears: it was cancer.

“I was scheduled to start my chemotherapy on 12th March and then COVID really hit the UK and my chemo got delayed several times and then cancelled and I was moved to the surgical option first,” says Melissa. During the surgery, doctors biopsied another part of her breast and found an additional cancer. “It’s really scary being told you have stage 3 aggressive cancer but my doctors are positive they can ‘cure’ me so I have to accept that,” she explains.

Melissa became a Representative six years ago, then a Sales Leader four years ago. “I’ve been using Avon products for over 15 years and when I was struggling to find a Rep, I decided to sign up again as a personal shopper for myself, friends and family. When I had my daughter four years ago, I decided that I wanted to take my business to the next level so started delivering brochures in my local area and signed up to become a Sales Leader,” she explains.

She’s positive about the support she’s received from Avon. “Avon have been amazing with their support and giving me a platform to share my story in the Digital Fist Look and at the UK Virtual Sales Conference to encourage women and men to check themselves and learn what their normal is. 95% of lumps are benign but by catching it early means that it can be treated,” she says.

Melissa’s advice to others is to get to know what’s normal for you. She says, “Getting diagnosed with cancer has taught me to trust in myself and that I know what my normal is. Also to live your life to the fullest. Breast cancer affects one in eight women during their lifetime but I didn’t expect be fighting for my life when my babies are so small.”