Anne's Story

“I actually thought I’d strained a muscle from carrying too much because there wasn’t a feeling of a lump,” says Anne. Conscious of her family history, with her sister Mary having been previously diagnosed with breast cancer, Anne made an appointment with her GP. What the mother-of-one thought would be a quick check turned into a life-changing discovery.

“I actually work in a hospital so I attended my appointment on my break as my GP had sent me as a precaution. 

“I wasn’t too concerned which sounds ridiculous now,” Anne recalls. “But I didn’t expect to be told I had breast cancer. The nurse who met me first said, ‘look, I don't think there's anything to worry about’. 

"Then I met the consultant whose facial expression basically told me I had cancer by looking at my breast, which was slightly dimpled. He said, ‘I’d be very concerned’. I walked out of the hospital later that day and found myself in the Daffodil Centre in a daze where an amazing staff member talked me through what would happen next.”

After a mammogram, ultrasound, biopsy, and MRI, she was diagnosed with lobular breast cancer on September 22, 2022.

Anne began her treatment plan starting with two types of chemotherapy, followed by a mastectomy and radiotherapy. As difficult as that was, she was also dealing with profound personal loss. 

“My dad was sick in August, and unexpectedly he passed away at the end of that month. Then my mum passed away in October. I was devastated. Then my sister Mary passed away a year later. Her breast cancer returned on three occasions, so she had a very tough run and was so amazing and brave throughout her nine-year battle,” she says. “That was probably the toughest part of the whole thing.” 

Despite these unimaginable challenges, Anne says her sister Mary’s experience inspired her to explore every option, which led to Anne becoming involved in a cancer trial. “I think the situation with her probably helped me along the way to go for the trial, because that was a really big decision to make, too,” she says. 

Anne’s oncologist suggested she speak to the research nurse about a clinical trial aimed at reducing the risk of recurrence. “It was a big deal. It’s six months of chemo that I had to do,” Anne says. “But I was at high risk for the cancer to return, so that probably helped my decision as well. Mary’s passing was devastating and still is.”

Friends and family worried about what more treatment might do to her body. “I was humming and hawing for a week or two,” she admits. 

Anne went ahead and took part in the SASCIA trial, which is an Investigator-Initiated Trial, meaning it is doctor-led and not commercially driven, beginning another six months of chemotherapy. “It was pretty tough looking back. Because I suppose your body is not as tough as it was before,” she says. “But for me, psychologically, I knew I was doing the right thing for me and my son; if you can, you have to throw the kitchen sink at it. That spurred me on. I needed to be around for my son, no matter what.”

Throughout her treatment and the trial, Anne says the support she received was extraordinary. “The patient care was amazing. Absolutely. Still to this day, because you go every three months for your check-ups there. If you’ve a pain anywhere, you can pick up the phone and ring anyone at any time.” She is especially grateful to the nurse who guided her through the process. “She is just super. There’s times when you laugh, there’s times when you cry. It’s not just the cancer they talk about.”

Anne also found support through services connected to the Irish Cancer Society. 

She also attended the Irish Cancer Society’s Living Well with and Beyond Cancer conference in Cork, which she found particularly helpful. “It’s a very strange world. I think only when you’ve had cancer… nobody really gets it except for other people who’ve had cancer. I found the conference really good.”

Reading other people’s experiences on the Irish Cancer Society website also helped her make her decision about the trial. “Just being able to hear about other people’s stories helped me,” she says. “I do get that a trial is not for everyone.”

For Anne, one of the biggest lessons is that recovery doesn’t end when treatment stops. “I think everybody, when you finish your last chemo or your last radiotherapy, that’s Anne, that she’s fine now,” she explains. 

That insight drives her desire help in any way she can. “I want to be able to give back in any way I can because I think everybody has been so good to me. I am so thankful for the opportunity I was given. If there’s anything I can do to help somebody make a decision or to talk to somebody if they need to talk with someone who has been. That’s where I’m coming from though I realise everyone’s story is different”

When asked what advice she would give to someone newly diagnosed, Anne says: “The diagnosis was the worst day of it all for me. It may get better once you have a plan in place, there may even be a light at the end of the tunnel. But the diagnosis was the scariest part of all for me. You don’t even understand the lingo and what it all means. I do realise I am so lucky to be alive and with this trial may have a chance to live a lot longer than previously expected.”

Anne also wants to remind others that symptoms aren’t always what you expect. “It’s not always a lump, definitely,” she says. “I didn’t feel the lump, I just felt a strain.”

Today, Anne continues her regular checkups and remains grateful for the care and community that helped her through. “They were and continue to be amazing.”

She adds: “Life has changed forever but now I am living life the best way I can, to the full. The fear will however be always there for recurrence. But I will continue to park it as best I can. Hanging out with my son (as often as he allows), swimming, dancing, going to concerts on a regular basis, catching up with friends and travel are all at the core of my world now.”