In September 2019, Catherine Kiely from Limerick found a lump in her breast. At the time, she thought nothing of it. “I thought it was lumpy breast tissue,” she says. “Little did I know what was to come.” Then in January 2020, she met with her cousin, who was visiting a relative in the hospital where Catherine works as a clerical officer. Over a coffee in the canteen, she told her cousin, who had just finished treatment for breast cancer, about the lump. “She said, ‘Catherine please go to the doctor’. I didn’t go in January because my own dad was ill and ended up in hospital. But I went to my GP in February and she was concerned straight away and sent an urgent referral to the breast clinic,” Catherine says. 

In March, following an examination, mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy, Catherine received the devastating news that she had triple negative breast cancer. It was the start of the pandemic, and her partner wasn’t with her when she received her diagnosis “My world turned upside down. I just burst it into tears and I was hysterical,” she recalls. 

Two weeks later, she had a lumpectomy and a 4-5cm tumour was found, but the cancer hadn’t spread further. Six weeks afterwards, she began the first of eight sessions of chemotherapy. 

“It was very hard. Again, it was something you had to do by yourself because nobody was allowed in with you. I went for the first one, and when I went for the second session, I cried outside the building because I just didn't want to go in. I knew how sick I was going to be, in order to get better,” she says. “It was a case of getting treatment on the Wednesday and by Friday, it would just hit me and the effects of it would last for several days. You start getting better, and then you're getting ready to go to your next chemo. Obviously, my hair started falling out from everywhere, so it's a lot to deal with, feeling sick, losing your appetite. Why is this happening to me? You just question everything. But I accepted what I had, and that treatment was the only way forward.”

Catherine then had 23 sessions of radiotherapy every day, Monday to Friday. “I managed it very well. I got a little bit of blistering, all right, but nothing that I couldn't handle with the right moisturisers.” Throughout her treatment, Catherine regularly engaged with the Irish Cancer Society’s Support Line. “The nurses you speak to are so helpful. I had all sorts of questions and they were able to bring that bit of clarity and support when I needed it, especially during my chemotherapy.”

Looking back on her post-treatment experience, Catherine feels there could have been more guidance. “The day when you finish your chemotherapy or your radiotherapy, it’s like, off you go now. Enjoy your life. We’ll see you back in six months or a year,” she says. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t given the right advice in relation to the bra I should be wearing and wasn’t informed I shouldn’t wear an underwire anymore.”

She developed mastitis four times and was hospitalised twice, before coming across a Limerick company who specialise in bras for women who have had breast cancer surgery, and who fitted her with a bra and prosthesis. “I felt like a new woman when I came out of it. I thought, my gosh, if only I had known this sooner, I probably wouldn't have gotten mastitis, and certainly not four times.”

Throughout her cancer experience, Catherine availed of the Irish Cancer Society’s free remote counselling service. “The remote counselling was really helpful, and I found it very useful. Going through cancer takes its toll on your health, of course, but emotionally as well. For me, I went through a difficult experience in my personal life at the same time I was dealing with cancer, and those counselling sessions really helped me process everything.”

Reflecting on her cancer experience, Catherine is encouraging people not to ignore any signs or symptoms and to get any persistent changes checked out as soon as possible. “When I was diagnosed, it was because I noticed a lump. I noticed that lump in September but did nothing until the following February, because life got in the way. I think to myself about my tumour being 4-5cm, would it have been smaller had I got checked sooner? Would my treatment have been easier? Those are all things that I can’t control now, but for anybody reading this, if you notice anything, please don’t hesitate. I was 48 years of age when I was diagnosed – for anybody under the age of BreastCheck; we are basically on our own. We need to check ourselves and we need to act if we notice something out of the ordinary.”

Finally, Catherine’s advice for anybody who has been diagnosed is to “stay away from Mr. Google – you’ll have yourself driven insane. Only get your advice from trusted sources and I’d have to recommend the Irish Cancer Society’s website and their Support Line. I’d also say it is so important to get good people around you. Your friends and your family, but also remember to be kind to yourself and put yourself first. Reduce the stress in your life and don’t let the little things stress you. Even post treatment, you could be sitting there in work, or anywhere and everything you have been through just hits you. Don’t be hard on yourself in those moments. Just remember, you got through it and you’re still here now.”

This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we're calling on the Irish public to host a Big Pink Breakfast or make a donation to support vital services and supports for breast cancer patients and their families. For more information, visit: Big Pink Breakfast | Irish Cancer Society

For any cancer-related queries, please get in touch with our Cancer Nurses through the Irish Cancer Society Support Line at freephone 1800 200 700 or by email at supportline@irishcancer.ie.