Portlaoise based Kriszti Nemeth is from Hungary and has been living in Ireland for the past 20 years. In January 2023 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. This October she shares her story to raise awareness about breast cancer and to encourage women of all ages to know the signs and symptoms and to act fast if they notice any changes.
“Towards the end of last year I noticed that one of my boobs felt a bit firmer. I didn’t pay it a lot of attention as I was pre-menopausal, so I thought it was just hormonal. I had no other symptoms and no family history of cancer so I wasn’t very worried about it. Then 2 weeks before Christmas I noticed another change- one of my nipples had gotten bigger. I went home to Hungary for Christmas, then visited my GP when I got back. She examined me and said that she wasn’t worried but referred me for a triple assessment for peace of mind.
“Within 10 days I was in St. James’ hospital and things went quickly from there. That day the doctors told me it looked like there was a mass on my right breast. I waited about a week for the biopsy results to be told in person that it was cancer.
“At first I didn’t know how to respond. It wasn’t until the surgeon examined me that I thought this is really happening. Until you hear the words ‘it’s cancer’ you can’t imagine what it’s like to have that news delivered to you. It didn’t really hit me until we were sitting in the hospital café afterwards and I broke down.
“The first few days were very tough, I went straight into panic mode, thinking ‘I’m going to die’, then after about 3 days I came out from that and thought right I have to deal with this now and turn it around. I decided that everything happens for reason, and I have to use this to create something good to make sense of what’s happening to me.”
That’s when Kriszti came up with idea of creating a photography project to help other women affected by breast cancer to cope with changes in their bodies and to heal themselves.
“My project will capture images of women affected by breast cancer throughout their journey. I want it to celebrate survivorship and the beauty of our new bodies. I’m doing it to help people, but I’m also helping myself. It helps me to have something to focus on other than my fears."
Kriszti’s treatment plan includes chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy. Side effects so far have been fatigue and hair loss.
“My hair started to fall out after my second chemotherapy treatment. I had long black hair since I was 17 and never cut it short, I always wanted to but I never had the guts. The week I found out I had cancer, I cut it. I actually love it and have never worn a wig. I’ve decided to embrace it and I want to help other women embrace their changes too."
Kriszti is keen to raise awareness about breast cancer.
“I know a lot of people might want to try to hide that they have cancer, but I want to talk about it. I hope the more we talk about it the more people will check themselves.
“My initial chemo finished, and I had my mastectomy in September. They found 9 out of 16 lymph nodes with cancer so now I might be participating in a clinical trial for a new chemo drug for a year. That’s been a shock as I thought I was almost done with treatment, but it is what it is, we’ve got to do everything to make sure it’s not coming back. I don’t know if I will opt to have reconstruction of my breast. To be honest, I don’t think I want to undergo another surgery, I just want to heal and get on with my life.”
During Kriszti’s treatment she found great support in the Irish Cancer Society Daffodil Centre in St. James’ hospital.
“I met a lovely nurse and had a really good chat and I little cry. I haven’t used other Irish Cancer Society services like counseling yet, because I feel like I’ve been dealing with it well. But I know that I might need help later on, I’m already worried about what will happen after treatment and how will I readjust into the world.”
Kriszti admits that no two cancer journeys are the same, but her advice is to try to find hope and joy in the little things.
“I know it’s different for everyone, but my advice is try not to be buried into the negatives like panic and fear because that doesn’t help. For me, being positive is half the battle. I try to find the silver linings. That doesn’t mean I don’t go through shit days, because I definitely do, I have cried my eyes out for three days after having thrombosis from chemo. But the best you can try to use your good days to do things that will make you happy and carry you through your bad days.”
