In June 2021, Aisling Murphy, mother of 2, noticed a lump on her right breast, but at 32 with no family history of breast cancer, she didn’t think much of it. By August, a close friend of hers had been diagnosed with colon cancer and this prompted her to go get her breast checked. “I thought lightning couldn’t strike twice with two friends as close as us, but I said I’d go get the lump checked just for peace of mind. When I went to the doctor and explained my family history and health situation, she said she would refer me on for a breast check, but I wasn’t flagged as a priority.”
In November, Aisling got a call to say an appointment was available. “I went along that evening to the clinic thinking I’d be in and out in 10 minutes. The doctor did an initial check and said he wanted to get me checked out further, so a nurse took me for a mammogram and then an ultrasound. I was getting worried by this point. After they did those two scans, they wanted me to go for a biopsy and it was then that I broke down crying because I knew bad news was coming.”
“It was the 19th of November when I got the call to say I had breast cancer. I was told that some of the lymph nodes under my right arm were positive as well. A month later, I was into chemotherapy which lasted until April 2022. Because of how aggressive the cancer was, in May, I had a mastectomy to remove my breast.” With two children aged 3 and 6 at the time of her diagnosis, going through treatment took its toll on Aisling.
“I have a big family, and they were there along with my friends to support me. I was also contacted by the Irish Cancer Society and other organisations to offer support, and while it was really great to know that additional support was out there, I felt like I just didn’t have time to make use of it. I had my chemo every two weeks on a Monday and for the rest of that week I’d be flattened and just so tired. But by the following week you’re up and at it, make up on, wig on and trying to bring as much normality to your kids’ lives as you can, before you go and repeat that cycle. It’s really tough for the kids because, they know I’m sick, but they don’t know how sick.”
"I had my chemo every two weeks on a Monday and for the rest of that week I’d be flattened and just so tired. But by the following week you’re up and at it, make up on, wig on and trying to bring as much normality to your kids’ lives as you can, before you go and repeat that cycle."
In August, Aisling got some more bad news. “So by now, I’ve done the chemo, I’ve had the surgery and done radiotherapy. I went to my appointment in August 2022, and it was then that they told me even after everything we had done, the cancer had spread to my bones. That news was just devastating, and I remember it just knocking the wind out of me. When you get the initial diagnosis, you think you’re going to get through it and come out the other side. I can’t really explain it, it’s like adrenaline that comes over you, it’s all new and you’re ready to face it. But after being told it spread and basically all they could do now was to stop it spreading further, you just start thinking about how long you have left.”
2022 saw Aisling get married and her family also moved into a new house, she and her husband had built together. “In September, we went on our honeymoon to Portugal, which was really special and yeah, my life goes on: the kids, spending time with them, the school runs, dropping them here, pick them up there, birthday parties. The show goes on and I want to keep doing all those normal things for as long as I can. I’m still on oral chemotherapy and my scans are stable – I feel fine, even talking though all of this now, it feels like I’m talking about another person and it’s not me, but I know it is me.”
"I live with the regret of not going to get checked straight away, and I ask myself would my prognosis have been different had I gone sooner"
“I’m sharing my story because I want any woman, no matter what her age, to go and get checked if you notice any unusual lumps or bumps around your breast. Before I had my first child, I actually worked in a call centre, and we were contracted in to do the phone calls for Breast Check. I would actually have been dealing with so many women, but they were older women, calling us up asking when their appointments were and booking them in. Then, when I noticed something myself, I delayed going to get checked. I live with the regret of not going to get checked straight away, and I ask myself would my prognosis have been different had I gone sooner. I am not saying this to scare women, but I would plead with you not to dismiss something because of your age or lack of family history – get checked and get checked as soon as you can if you notice anything out of the ordinary.”
