Sofie’s unbreakable spirit: A young woman’s fight against breast cancer

It was going to be just a normal school day for Sofie. She remembers that the sunrise was exceptionally beautiful that morning. Sofie was taking a picture from it when she received a call from her doctor – and the news were devastating.

October is the breast cancer awareness month aiming to promote campaigns and projects that are advocated to educating, collecting funds for research and to help people fight against breast cancer.

According to WHO around half of all breast cancers occur in women who have no other risk factors than just sex and age. IARC estimates that in the year 2022 over 2.31 million people were diagnosed with breast cancer.

Sofie Skov was one of them.

When everything changed

‘I have always been afraid of death. I think it is one of those things that we obviously can’t control, and therefore, I find it extremely scary. So, when the doctor told me on the phone that I have breast cancer, all these thoughts, they go through my mind instantly and I’m thinking “Holy shit, I’m 26 years old. I’m not ready to die”‘.

After receiving the news on the phone, Sofie promised herself she would not panic and jump into any conclusions before hearing them in person. So while waiting for her appointment, she sat down and started painting her nails, like in any normal day. Only this time she drew a pink ribbon on them, the symbol of awareness and solidarity for breast cancer.

Sofie Skov

Sofie’s nails did not go unnoticed at the doctor’s office. They were all amazed how she was able to put her mind into doing that after hearing such devastating news. But this was Sofie’s way to focus on something and not fall apart while waiting for the appointment.

The doctor had a concise treatment plan ready for Sofie, and that gave her comfort in some way. Sofie’s cancer was also caught in early stage, so the prognosis was good.

But a lot in her life would change.

Sofie remembers the shock when she was asked by the doctor if she wanted to freeze her eggs. The cancer treatments would be so heavy that it might prevent her from having kids later in life. She was not prepared for that.

‘It put a lot of thoughts into my mind, and it was actually really difficult because for a long time I had been thinking that I don’t want kids, but suddenly I had to make the decision right there. And I just thought, “I don’t know.’”

There was also the fear, that while making the decision and waiting for the eggs to be taken from her, the cancer would have time to spread. Fortunately, it looks like that did not happen.

Sofie 10 days after her first chemo treatment. 

Balancing life and school with chemotherapy

Sofie didn’t want to put her school completely on hold and decided that the treatments were not going to stop her from living her life.

‘I was very much not thinking about being sick. I probably looked sick. Sick as hell.’

But she is stubborn to the core and decided that cancer is not going to defeat her.

Sofie lost all her hair during chemo, and it was very hard for her. She had wigs but she didn’t like using them.

‘I really liked how I looked with the wig on, but it just made me sad that when I came home, I would have to take it off and be sick-Sofie again.’

Sofie did not like using hats either.

‘Who were they to tell me that I couldn’t be bald?’ she says.

Sofie Skov

Sofie describes the chemotherapy period as ‘powering through’.

The week after receiving treatment was always very difficult. She was tired all the time no matter how much she slept, and her body was aching like in a terrible flu.

One thing that helped her during this difficult period was to meet other people who had similar situation. Sofie did a five-week boot camp with other chemo-patients, and talking to them made her feel good. After all they were the only people who could actually understand what she was going through.

‘I think the worst parts have been actually before and after’

 After all six chemo treatments were over, Sofie found herself being more scared again. The cancer is gone, but so many things have changed.

Sofie needs to keep on taking medication for eight more yeas, 10 years in total after chemotherapy. The type of cancer Sofie had feeds on estrogenic hormones, so the medication stops them from working.

This means that Sofie is 28 years old and suffers from symptoms of menopause.

‘My joints hurt, I get hot flashes and mood swings. And I’m still at risk of getting sick again.’

Sofie in summer 2024 

Hope is an ongoing process for Sofie. Some days are better, but sometimes she finds her mind spiralling into worst-case scenarios again. It would be horrible to think she would get sick again and would need to go through the treatments and emotions all over again.

‘I’m obviously happy to be here, but I also don’t feel like I almost lost my life. Because I didn’t. But of course, if I hadn’t been persistent with this (getting more examinations), I don’t know where I would be now.’

Sofie in front of her workplace in Denmark. 

Sofie has graduated from school and is working now at a lovely little beach hotel in Denmark, less than two hours away from Copenhagen. She feels like her world view has not changed so much, but she wants to prioritize the things she enjoys in life more, like travelling.

‘Sometimes I would be thinking like “oh, it’s annoying getting older”, but it’s a cliché. I guess I should be happy when I get older now.’

Sofie thinks talking openly about her experience is important, and it might help other people, now or in the future. Unfortunately, anyone can find themselves in a similar situation, or see someone they love going through that. Then, knowledge will help to support and understand better.

That is one of the reasons why “Pink October” is important.

Text: Lilli Huovari

Images: Sofie Skov