Tahera initially went to her GP not because she noticed anything wrong but because her mother had just been diagnosed with breast cancer and she was worried about her family history, compounded by the fact she didn’t know how to check herself.
What followed was a diagnosis of breast cancer and she has since transformed how her community talks about breast cancer.
Watch Tahera tell her story of honesty and bravery in full.
In 2021, Tahera’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thinking of her family history, including a paternal aunt and two cousins who had died from the disease, she went to see her GP. A referral followed, with the eventual results confirming that Tahera had breast cancer, shortly after her own mother’s diagnosis.
At the beginning, I was worried. I was heartbroken, but later on, I was strong.
Carrying it alone
Tahera didn’t tell her community or her friends. She barely told her family aside from her husband. In the Bangladeshi and South Asian communities, cancer was spoken about in whispers, if at all. A source of shame, something to be hidden, something that people believed was contagious or would curse the chances of a daughter finding a husband.
She had sadly seen this first-hand, including a cousin who died of breast cancer and whose illness the family only disclosed after her death. Even her own elder sister asked her to stay silent after her diagnosis. She also had a friend who had breast cancer who asked Tahera not to tell anyone, for fear her daughter would be considered unmarriageable.
In our culture, we always learn that if anyone has cancer, they will die sooner or later. So, my mum, she has breast cancer, and when I asked her about what do you think, she said, “I’m going to die very soon because it’s in our culture”.
There was another reason Tahira stayed quiet. She had just founded Better We CIC, a Manchester-based community organisation committed to improving the mental, physical, and social wellbeing of individuals and families. Her members depended on her. She did not want them to feel afraid, or to feel that the person they relied on was slipping away. So, she kept going, smiling, putting on makeup before sessions, cooking at home, taking her children on holiday, all while quietly going through breast cancer treatment.
There was no one for me to share with. I just kept it to myself. It wasn’t good. I should have shared with people.
What not telling her community felt like.
Tahera reflects on not telling anyone about her diagnosis, not just to her, but to the wider community. She grew up never having been taught to check her own breasts, only learning the correct technique a few weeks before giving this interview, at a session run by Prevent Breast Cancer’s Health Inclusion team.
If I had known earlier, maybe I could have been diagnosed at an earlier stage. Maybe everything would have been easier.
Many people still hold misconceptions about breast cancer, including the belief that it can be caught from someone else. It cannot. While certain genetic factors can increase a person’s risk, there are also lifestyle changes that can help lower it. Tahera wants her community to understand this and to stop letting fear, stigma, or judgement delay life‑saving treatment.
She also recalls a moment at a lady’s party when another woman joked that there were ‘a lot of dead people’ at the party, a day that made her very upset. Her message to that friend, and to anyone tempted to make similar remarks is simple:
You don’t know what the other person is going through. Always be sympathetic. Try to help. Don’t push them further into sadness.
Speaking out and bringing others with her
After her treatment ended, Tahera began sharing her story, first with her charity, then at community events. The first time she spoke publicly, there were around 100 people in the room. Most of them, she says, connected with what she said, crying and hugging her afterwards.
She was then invited back to a second event with over 200 people. This time, she brought her mother with her. Her mother, who had spent more than 60 years in Bangladesh absorbing the message that talking about breast cancer was shameful, stood up and shared her own breast cancer journey. Tahera says that she continues to share her story as she wants to empower her community.
Through Better We CIC, she now creates regular opportunities for women to share experiences and learn about their health, working towards what she describes as a breast cancer free organisation, where every member knows how to check themselves and feels no shame in doing so.
Five years on from her diagnosis, Tahera is cancer-free. She describes feeling proud not because of everything she went through, but because of it.
If anyone is diagnosed with breast cancer, they are not alone. The journey is not as hard as you think. Be brave, go for the right treatment, share with your family and community. There is a lot of support available.
Tahera’s journey shows the power of speaking out, even when silence feels safer. By turning her own fear into action, she has helped reshape how her community understands breast cancer and encouraged countless women to check themselves, seek help early, and reject stigma.
Her message is simple but life‑saving: one appointment, one conversation and one moment of courage, can change everything.
If you would like to book a community session with our Health Inclusion team, please email info@preventbreastcancer.org.uk
About Prevent Breast Cancer
Prevent Breast Cancer is the only UK charity entirely dedicated to the prediction and prevention of breast cancer – we’re committed to freeing the world from the disease altogether. Unlike many cancer charities, we’re focused on preventing, rather than curing. Promoting early diagnosis, screening and lifestyle changes, we believe we can stop the problem before it starts. And being situated at the only breast cancer prevention centre in the UK, we’re right at the front-line in the fight against the disease. Join us today and help us create a future free from breast cancer. If you have any questions or concerns, email us today.
