Fiona's Story
“You don’t realise how strong you are until you have to be. Just make sure you surround yourself with positive people and be ruthless about who you give your energy to. Your body is incredible – it’s more resilient than you realise.”
Fiona O’Flynn from Dublin was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. Her diagnosis came about after she went to her GP for an unrelated condition.
“I developed carpal tunnel syndrome but didn’t know what it was at the time, so I went to my GP,” says mother-of-three Fiona. “While I was there, I asked her to examine my breast because it seemed like my right breast was slightly bigger than the other, and had denser tissue, but there was no lump.”
Fiona was referred to a breast clinic in August 2020 where she had a triple assessment: a mammogram, an ultrasound and a biopsy. A week later, she received her diagnosis.
“They told me I had breast cancer and it had spread to my lymph nodes,” she says. “I was shell shocked. You go for these checks, and you assume everything will be fine.
"I’d had cysts and lumpy tissue in the past, so I’d been through these checks before. But this time, it was real, it was actually happening. I felt like my number was up. I was very shocked on one hand and slightly resigned on the other, given the high incidence of breast cancer."
“I was sent for an MRI, and luckily the cancer was localised even though the lymph nodes were affected.”
After this, Fiona underwent a right-side mastectomy. Six weeks later, she started chemotherapy which ended in February 2021. Throughout March 2021, she had radiotherapy.
“It was all very quick. There were no delays. I was relieved to have a plan so I could focus on what was coming next.
“I also remember being given some Irish Cancer Society booklets, they were very useful. When you’re reading them, you realise the things you are going through are totally normal.”
During this time, Fiona developed a passion for swimming which she says helped her to cope with going through treatment. After treatment, she also took up tennis as a hobby.
“All through my treatments, I went swimming,” she explains. “I was lucky, I didn’t have a port, so I was able to swim. Some days, I’d go swimming and then go straight back home to bed. It meant that I could go out and leave my worries in the sea. And as for tennis, it's well known for longevity."
“I really think exercise helps your body to heal, and if you can get out and move at all, I think it’s so important to do it.”
After successfully finishing radiotherapy, Fiona was prescribed oestrogen-blocking therapy due to risk of recurrence. In 2024, she found out she was eligible for a clinical trial called EMBER-4.
The trial aims to assess how well an oestrogen-receptor antagonist works in reducing the risk of cancer recurrence in patients who have had ER+ and HER2- breast cancer and have undergone two to five years of adjuvant endocrine therapy.
“In order to get the correct balance of medications versus side effects, I did a good bit of chopping and changing, so I could see which ones I tolerated best, and I was looking at what was happening in the US and the UK,” says Fiona.
“I discussed cancer trials with my oncologist, and two years ago we discussed the EMBER-4 trial, and we agreed that I would try it.
“I went onto the trial, and I thought the wraparound support they gave was very good. They had time to talk about the side effects of the medication and everything that was going on.
“I’d say my experience was positive, and I’d be happy to talk to people about cancer trials but I’m also very aware that everyone’s cancer journey is very different. I think it’s a really personal thing.”
Last year, Fiona had to take a break from the trial as she developed severe joint pain. Further investigation revealed that she had a non-cancerous pituitary tumour and she had to undergo surgery.
“I’ve since had surgery on the pituitary adenoma and I’m a few months post-op,” she says. “My energy levels have changed over the last couple of years. Having the mastectomy and reconstruction surgery, carpal tunnel syndrome, the pituitary adenoma, they all zapped my energy quite a bit.
“I’m hoping I’ll get a clear run now and I’ll be back to normal soon, but I’m in a good place now.”
