In August 2023, Fionnuala Rabbitt, aged 52, went for her BreastCheck appointment in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. “About 18 months earlier, I had noticed a lump in one of my breasts, and I went and had it checked out. All was fine. I have always been very mindful and taken notice of any changes in my breast. As soon as I hit 50, I was straight onto BreastCheck to make sure they had me down. But because I had only recently done all the checks, I thought to myself, I probably don’t need to go through that again.”

Fionnuala decided to go for the BreastCheck appointment. “I more decided to go to keep my place on the list – I had been chasing them to make sure I was on it and then I don’t turn up when called? I went and I can’t tell you how glad I am that I did.”

Following her appointment in the mobile unit in Letterkenny, where she now lives and works, Fionnuala was sent to her native Galway for further tests. “Down I went and I was thinking to myself, they were going to find nothing. I have dense breast tissue and when I check, it can feel lumpy, so I thought whatever had shown up was just going to be more of the same. I went on my own and after the mammogram, it was clear they could see something. They referred me on for a biopsy, but the mammogram had shown up a 2cm tumour and the team were confident it was breast cancer.”

“I was in total shock” explains Fionnuala. “I think it took me about five days before I told anybody anything. I kept it to myself and processed it. I was very fortunate to have caught it when I did – I was diagnosed at Stage I. It’s hard to believe I was thinking of giving that BreastCheck appointment a miss – I’m like a posterchild for BreastCheck now! I come from a big family, I’m the eldest of seven and there are five girls, so I’m in their ear the whole time and anyone else who will listen to me.”

Towards the end of September, Fionnuala had a lumpectomy. “They removed the lump and some lymph nodes and thankfully, they were clear. The Irish Cancer Society website was so helpful before I went in for surgery. It wasn’t until December then, when I had five days of radiotherapy in Galway. Fortunately, that was me done. For the next five years, I’ll be on the oral hormone treatment, and I’ll have regular check ups.”

Just before her radiotherapy began, Fionnuala became a grandparent. “The week before my radiotherapy started, my daughter had a little boy. Having gone through this brush with cancer, it makes me want to spend even more time with my family. I am very aware that my cancer experience, thankfully, was so straightforward, and I know other people have very different experiences, but having cancer still makes you think about life and think about death. I just consider myself so lucky, because I never would have found that lump myself. It was deep in the breast tissue – what if I hadn’t gone to that screening appointment? I think about the what ifs. I’m so glad I did, and I honestly can’t encourage people more to please take up that opportunity when it comes, but also, of course, check your breast and know what’s normal for you and keep an eye on any changes.”

One thing Fionnuala wants to highlight about her experience is the speed and the quality of care she received. “I work in local radio, and I hear a lot of really bad experiences across the healthcare system, and absolutely, we should highlight those and demand better. But when it comes to breast cancer care, my story is a perfect example of a system working very well. I think we should highlight that it is not all bad, and while there is huge room for improvement, and people can be let down, we get a lot right as well.”