Before she received her diagnosis in November 2023, Jennifer Ffrench had no indications that she had breast cancer. “It was through a routine mammogram with BreastCheck and I had no symptoms at all; it was a complete surprise,” says Jennifer, from Duncormick in Wexford. “In fact, this is how lucky I am – I rang to postpone my mammogram because my son had an appointment at the exact same time on the same day. I thought, ‘there’s nothing wrong with me, I’ll push the mammogram out a bit.’ But instead, they had a cancellation and brought my appointment forward.”
Her mammogram showed an abnormality and further tests confirmed that Jennifer had stage 1 triple negative breast cancer.
“I was stunned,” she says. “I’m not even sure I’ve processed it really because things happened so quickly for me then. I had the biopsy and then, a week later, I was with the surgeon. Two weeks later, on December 1, 2023, I had surgery and then in January I met my oncologist and started chemo.”
Jennifer had eight rounds of chemotherapy, which she found challenging. “The chemo really knocked me, and it was trying to find the right drugs to combat the nauseousness without feeling like you were a zombie,” she says.
"I didn’t realise that every single person has a different experience."
After her diagnosis and throughout her treatment, she tried to take a pragmatic approach. “I’m a pharmacy technician and for a number of years, I’ve worked on the oncology side, behind the scenes. Now that I’m on the other side as a patient I’ve told myself, ‘This is going to be ok. It’s stage 1, it hasn’t gone into the lymph nodes. The chemo and radiotherapy are more preventative than anything else.’ I didn’t let it absorb me; I just took it step by step.”
But she hadn’t anticipated how chemotherapy would make her feel. “I think I thought I would have an easier time of it. I always thought I’d be in the category of ‘oh, side effects happen to other people but I’m young and fit enough for that not to happen to me’. And then it did,” says Jennifer, who is 53 years old. “I didn’t realise that every single person has a different experience. Once I got through my chemotherapy, I then completed my radiotherapy on the 8th of July. There was some skin discomfort and a lot of tiredness, but I found it easier than my chemotherapy. I am so grateful to have been able to avail of supports and services from my local cancer support centre throughout my treatment.”
"I found myself on a limited income, so your earnings have gone down, but the bills don’t stop."
Jennifer has been impacted by the financial burden of cancer. “I found myself on a limited income, so your earnings have gone down, but the bills don’t stop. I still had a mortgage to pay, and I have one son in university and another due to start in September. I applied for a medical card, but was refused initially. At the very time you should be focusing on your diagnosis and treatment, I was thrown into form-filling and pulling all your financial details together to be assessed. After an initial refusal, and an appeal, 7 months later, I was awarded a medical card, but by then, I had racked up expenses I shouldn’t have. To give just one example, every fortnight I had pre-chemo bloods taken with my GP, which I had to pay for. This would’ve been at a lesser cost with my medical card.”
Having directly experienced the difficulties of applying for a medical card following her diagnosis, Jennifer supports the Irish Cancer Society’s call for a medical card to be awarded to all cancer patients. “I know the Irish Cancer Society has long-campaigned for patients to be given a medical card upon their diagnosis until their treatment ends, and I fully support that call – it would just remove a lot of stress. It’s been really hard financially. I can just about support the family. It’s taken a number of stressful months submitting all of the supporting documentation to apply for the medical card. I don’t know if I’ll be able to take the time I need to recuperate. I have to get back to work.”
"I would just plead with anybody who is thinking of giving their appointment a miss—the way I almost did—to go and get checked. It might just save your life.”
For anybody who received a similar diagnosis, Jennifer advises learning about the type of breast cancer you have. “I had no idea there were so many types of breast cancer. I would say the first thing is to educate yourself on what exactly you have because when you say, ‘I have breast cancer,’ five people are going to tell you that their cousin had it or their aunt had it. But there are so many different kinds, and your story is going to be different to your friend’s aunt. Education is key.”
Finally, Jennifer is encouraging anybody who is eligible to make sure to take up their BreastCheck screening appointment. “I think when I look back at my own experience, to be able to catch the cancer so quickly really made all the difference. I would just plead with anybody who is thinking of giving their appointment a miss—the way I almost did—to go and get checked. It might just save your life.”
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.
