Woman, 38, Learns Her Cancer Has Spread — 4 Years After Double Mastectomy: ‘Best-Case Scenario Is a Couple Years’

A woman who had a double mastectomy — and was told she was in remission — has been given the bleak news that her breast cancer has spread, leaving her with “a couple years.”

Laura Wharam, now 38, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 after she noticed a growth on her breast. She had a double mastectomy — and was believed to be in remission.

However, as her fiancé, Jake Watt, 35, shares, she started to feel under the weather in early 2025. When she became jaundiced, he rushed her to the hospital, according to The Daily Mail. Watt thought her yellowed skin, along with her fatigue and loss of appetite, indicated she had appendicitis — as jaundice can be a symptom of the condition.

However, Watt says they were told not only had her breast cancer returned, but it had metastasized, spreading to her liver, bones, and lungs.

“It was the worst possible news. It’s such a shock to the system,” he said. “I’ve cried everyday since the diagnosis. It’s been such a whirlwind.”

While her cancer is “incurable,” he says she’s “having chemotherapy to try to slow it down.”

“Doctors have said the worst case scenario is a couple months, the best-case scenario is a couple years. I’m someone who likes to have things planned out months in advance but now it’s all day-by-day.”

“Laura and I haven’t yet talked about everything moving forwards,” he said, praising his fiancée for being “strong.”

“She’s from Yorkshire,” Watt said of the English terrritory. “Northern girls are built differently.”

He added, “She’s only 5 ft. I always say I don’t know how they fit so much strong in her.”

The couple has established a GoFundMe to provide for Wharam’s “end-of-life care,” Watt explains, adding, “I’m really not good with asking people for anything. It’s probably a pride thing,’ he said. “’But it became a last resort because I want to make sure Laura doesn’t go without.”

Breast cancer rates in women under 40 are rising in the U.S. as well, with researchers calling the surge “alarming.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.