After noticing a small lump on her breast, Elaine Bruce, then aged 40, went to see her GP. “The doctor referred me to Beaumont Hospital where I had a mammogram and an ultrasound. I wasn’t worried at this point, because I knew this was the protocol. They told me they didn’t think it would be anything to worry about because the lump was so small—I remember the nurse telling me how impressed she was I even noticed the lump because of how small it was and how important early detection is. They said they’d do a biopsy anyway just for peace of mind. Two weeks later I was sitting in the doctor’s office being told I had breast cancer.”
Following her diagnosis in May 2018, Elaine said she was shocked and devastated. “You read about these stories a lot or hear about somebody famous maybe getting diagnosed, but you don’t think it will ever happen to you and nothing really prepares you to deal with the shock. My son was just 19-months old at the time, so I had only really settled into returning to work after my maternity leave. The support of my friends and family during this time was so important, especially my husband.”
Elaine was reassured her cancer was caught very early and that given the lump was small, she would only need approximately 4-6 weeks of radiotherapy for her treatment. Around this time, she also noticed a small lump under her arm that she’d had for years had gotten bigger.
“The doctors were taking no chances and everything was being checked. Two weeks after the biopsy on my lymph node under my arm, it was confirmed that the cancer had spread, and my diagnosis was HER2+ breast cancer. This was much more aggressive than first thought so the plan for treatment dramatically changed. One minute you’re looking at 4-6 weeks of radiotherapy and then you’re looking at surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy eventually and more. The next few weeks were spent getting lots of additional tests. I felt like I was always at the hospital getting scans—I had to get a CT scan, bone scan and an MRI. The anxiety during that time waiting for results was horrible. The worry and the not knowing, and the changing course was really difficult for me but, you have to get through it.”
"The counsellor I spoke to had actually gone through a cancer diagnosis 30 years previously and talking to her was just brilliant, she was somebody who could understand exactly what I was going through and it really helped me along my journey.”
In June 2018, Elaine had a lumpectomy to remove the cancerous lump on her breast and 30 lymph nodes were removed from under her arm. “After the surgery, I found out that even though they had removed 30 lymph nodes, only one of them was positive. That was the best news I could have hoped for at that stage because it put my mind at rest that the cancer hadn’t spread as much as I feared.”
“In general, the chemotherapy wasn’t as bad as I expected”, explains Elaine. Her chemo began in July 2018 and would last for five months. “At first, it was AC-T chemo which was the hardest part because this is a very strong chemotherapy which takes place every two weeks and there’s four rounds of that. Once that was done, I was onto Taxol, which is a chemotherapy drug and that lasted for around 12 weeks. The oncology unit I attended provided me with anti-sickness medication and while this doesn’t work for everybody, I found it very helpful.”
During her chemotherapy, Elaine opted to continue working. “This was pre-Covid, before working from home was the norm but my employer, Irish Life, was very accommodating. I wasn’t fit enough to go into the office but I wanted the distraction from my treatment, otherwise I was finding myself going down Google rabbit holes. Irish Life set me up with a laptop at home and made sure I had everything I needed. I also made use of our Employee Assistance Programme and took up their free counselling service. The counsellor I spoke to had actually gone through a cancer diagnosis 30 years previously and talking to her was just brilliant, she was somebody who could understand exactly what I was going through and it really helped me along my journey.”
Following chemotherapy, Elaine was into six weeks of radiotherapy. “This was much more time intensive because it’s five days per week. I stopped working at this point. My radiotherapy happened over Christmas and I remember not being able to attend my son’s nursery school play. That was a particularly bad day, but you get through it.”
It wasn’t until August 2019 that Elaine finished her final round of Herceptin, which she had to undergo every three weeks for a year. “It’s now over 5 years since my diagnosis and when I look back at it, it’s hard to believe all you have been through. I still suffer from some shoulder and arm pain from my lymph node removal and the radiation. It’s not just the physical scars, but mentally it’s been difficult as well. After the treatment finishes, it’s not the end of the story as there’s still a fear that the cancer might come back especially in the first few years after treatment. Leaving the care and security of the hospital at the end of treatment isn’t an easy transition.”
"It’s such a cliché but when things are so unknowable and changing day by day at the start with your diagnosis and all the tests, it’s all out of your control and you just have to be ready to get on with whatever is thrown at you."
“All that being said, you get through it and I think the best advice I can give is keep moving forward and take each day one at a time. It’s such a cliché but when things are so unknowable and changing day by day at the start with your diagnosis and all the tests, it’s all out of your control and you just have to be ready to get on with whatever is thrown at you.”
Elaine is telling her story in the hope that cancer patients reading will take strength and encouragement the way she did reading the Irish Cancer Society’s website. “Looking online, I came across the Irish Cancer Society’s website—the stories section—and I found all of these people who had gone through cancer or were currently dealing with a diagnosis sharing their experience. The more similar the story was to mine, the more hope I got. Here were people who had cancer 5, 10, 15 years ago and here they were telling the tale. It gave me strength and hope and I hope anybody reading my story gets that same hope.”
