24-year-old Lauren Barrett from Tralee describes her experience with cancer as ‘a little complicated’. 

“My mum was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when I was 16, she ended up having a hysterectomy and chemo. After this she went through genetic testing and she tested positive for the BRCA mutation. 

“As I grew older, I was always aware of what had happened to her and what that meant for me. In December of 2020, I went to my GP and asked if I could be put forward for genetic screening.  I was only 21 at the time, so younger than the recommended age for the screening.

“However I was insistent and they ended up giving me a date in June for the screening appointment. In April, I was doing my regular breast self-check in the shower and I found a lump. I booked in with my GP straight away to get it checked out.

“Due to my family history, they referred me for further assessment, marking the appointment as urgent.  I was told the expected wait time was two weeks.

“I was in third year of college at the time, doing my online exams, so I had a distraction. However three weeks had passed and I had no update, so I rang the hospital. It turned out that due to my age, they had marked my appointment as non-urgent.

“Luckily I had private health insurance, so I went back to my GP and asked for a private referral. I was given an appointment for two weeks’ time. The night before I was due to go into the hospital, I got a call to say the cyber-attack had occurred on the hospital’s systems.

“I could have a physical exam with a consultant, but only urgent scans were taking place at the time. After the examination, the consultant put me forward for an ultrasound. That’s when alarm bells began to go off in my mind.”

“After the ultrasound, the next steps were a biopsy and a mammogram. That’s when everything started to snow ball. I still had my genetic test scheduled for June 1st, so I still attended that. But then two days later I got a call from the hospital to say they needed me to come in for my results, and to not come alone.”

“On June 4th, I was diagnosed with stage 3, triple negative breast cancer.”

“I had a feeling it was coming, but it was surreal hearing the words. In my head, I was the healthiest I had been. Covid had given me the time to really focus on my health and fitness.”

“The tears came when I asked the consultant would my hair fall out and he said yes. I was a 21-year-old with long blonde hair, it was tough. 

“The consultant mentioned five months of chemo and then discussed egg retrieval – in my head I thought ‘but I have work in the morning and a match on Sunday? I don’t have time.’

“Coming to terms with the fact that your life is put on pause in some ways, is strange.”

“I went ahead with the egg retrieval procedure, I then got my genetic screening results. I was positive for the BRCA gene, at this point, this didn’t surprise me.”

“My treatment plan included AC and Taxol chemo and radiation. I then opted for a full mastectomy with a reconstruction, I felt I had peace of mind knowing that everything I could do, was done.

“Chemo was the hardest part for me, I found being unwell and exhausted after AC infusion difficult to deal with, alongside losing my hair. I had four days where I couldn’t do anything, then ten days that were a bit better. I scheduled plans with friends on the days that I was feeling well, I tried to keep things as normal as possible.”

“Thankfully, my chemo, radiation and surgery worked really well for me. I started feeling back to myself and was able to go back and complete my final year of college, graduating with a first class honours! I am currently doing my PHD in neuroscience and happy to say I am doing well!”