On the 10th of March 2020, Fiona Mannion from County Mayo was called to attend Breast Check for the first time.
“I remember the day so well. I sing with a choir, and we were due to travel to America two days later to perform. I was so busy trying to get myself together, I thought to myself ‘will I even bother going to the mammogram?’ I decided I would go, and I ended up recognising so many of the other women there. Many were in my class back in the day, almost like a school reunion.
“Two days after the mammogram, I received a call from Breast Check saying that I needed to come back to see them again for further checks. However, at the same time, Covid was kicking off and it was announced that the whole country was being shut down.
“On March 23rd as the whole world was focused on covid, I got a call from a surgeon in the hospital to say I had breast cancer."
“Thankfully I ended up getting an appointment for a triple assessment in Galway the following week where they took a biopsy of my breast.
“On March 23rd as the whole world was focused on covid, I got a call from a surgeon in the hospital to say I had breast cancer. He said I had two options, to go on hormone suppressants until this ‘pandemic thing was over’ or to come to Galway the next morning for surgery.
“I felt like I had no time to even digest the news I had just been given, it was horrendous. I decided to go ahead with the surgery and thankfully everything went smoothly. My tumour was sent away for testing, and I later received results from the Oncotype test. My surgeon told me I had scored 20 on the test and therefore would not require chemo. This was a huge relief.
“After surgery, all my consultations had to be over the phone because of Covid, which was very hard to deal with."
“In June I was able to start radiation treatment. I am lucky to have a great family and friends; my husband Michael, sons and dear friend Fiona all created a rota to drive me to and from treatment in Galway. I was very grateful for this support as I was really fatigued after each session, I didn’t have the strength to drive. My consultant Dr Joe Martin was also incredibly kind.
“At the moment, I am doing pretty well. I finished tamoxifen in May of this year. I have to say, this is something I wasn’t really prepared for. I experienced really intense mood swings and hot flushes, it was horrendous, and I feel like I didn’t get any real warning of this. I am not sure if being weaned off it gradually might have made things less severe? One positive thing since coming off tamoxifen however is that I now feel my joint pain is much better.
“I will be forever grateful to Breast Check, my cancer was very deep, and I likely wouldn’t have found it for a long time. My advice to anyone reading this, is to go for your mammogram when you are invited to Breast Check. I am so grateful I attended that day, it saved my life.”
