"I have had positive breast cancer 3 times."

I keep having to have surgery and take anti-cancer medication. I am devastated that I keep getting breast cancer. I think that it would be better if there was more advice on how to avoid a recurrence.

The first diagnosis was in 1999 when I was diagnosed with early ER positive breast cancer and had a local wide excision followed by further surgery as the margins were not clear. This was at the Sussex Nuffield Hospital and surgery was followed by a course of tamoxifen. However, this caused me to develop polyps in my womb and these were surgically removed on 4 occasions. I was then taken off tamoxifen.

In 2004 I was diagnosed again with early ER positive breast cancer in the same breast. I had a further local wide excision at the Sussex Nuffield and was put on a course of medication which I could not tolerate so was taken off this and did not have any further medication. I also received a 3-week course of radiotherapy at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

In 2014 I was again diagnosed with early stage ER positive breast cancer in the same breast. This time I had the tumour removed and had intra operative radiotherapy at the Spire Montefiore Hospital in Hove. I am now taking medication that I can tolerate daily and, as before, see my oncologist and breast surgeon regularly.

I decided not to have a mastectomy following my mother's experience with breast cancer. She had a mastectomy and developed secondary breast cancer of the lungs. My thinking was that if I preserved the breast and I developed cancer again it would hopefully be contained in the breast tissue and would not spread anywhere else - so I hope this was a good decision. The breast cancer I had was not hereditary according to my oncologist but more information about prevention would be really helpful.