Helen's Story
“I’ll hold my hands up – I hadn’t done a breast check regularly for years before I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I always put it off, because I thought, ‘What if I find something?’ which I now realise was the wrong approach.”
Helen McKinney Russell, 50, from Letterkenny, Co. Donegal found a lump in her left breast by accident when she was in the shower last April.
“I happened to swipe under my left breast as part of my shower routine,” says Helen. “That was when I found the lump.
“It felt hard under and on top of the skin, it was very small – not even pea-sized. I didn’t know how long it had been there, because I hadn’t been checking my breasts, and I only found it by chance.”
After finding the lump, Helen went to her GP who referred her to Letterkenny Hospital for tests. When she was in the hospital, Helen had a physical exam and mammogram. The mammogram showed some areas of concern, so two biopsies were carried out the same day.
“At that point, I started to feel scared,” says Helen. “They did a biopsy on my left breast, and they also found a round bump under my left arm and biopsied that too. After the biopsy, the consultant told me it might be cancer.
“I felt very emotional when he said it might be cancer. Two weeks later, in May, I went back for my results and the consultant said it was cancer.
“The day the consultant said I had lobular breast cancer, I remember reaching for my husband Stephen’s hand and squeezing it. My sister was there too, she works in the hospital, and I remember seeing her eyes filling up with tears.”
Helen was also told that a smaller tumour had been detected in her right breast. “It didn’t throw me when they told me they’d found cancer in my right breast as well,” she says. “I’d already processed that I had cancer when the consultant told me it might be cancer after I had the biopsy. But it was an emotional rollercoaster.”
Helen started chemotherapy in July and expects to finish this treatment in November. When she was told she had cancer, Helen’s 10-year-old son, Finn, was at the forefront of her mind.
“Finn was so good and so strong,” says Helen. “I had to explain to him that I was going to lose my hair, because I didn’t want it to scare him when it did happen. I tried to make light of it beforehand.
“I’d say things like, ‘What if Mammy has a weird-shaped head? What if I look like an alien?’ and he found that really funny. When I did lose my hair, he just asked to feel my head. He was OK with it.”
Helen uses the Irish Cancer Society Volunteer Driver service to travel to and from her chemotherapy appointments. She finds that it alleviates some of stress she feels when she goes to hospital.
“I found that I was a lot more nervous about driving when I started treatment, and I found parking in Letterkenny General Hospital really stressful. I recently started using the Volunteer Driver service, and it has been a huge help."
“It means I don’t have the additional worry about parking, and I can just focus on my treatment. And I get on so well with Bernard, my Volunteer Driver, he’s always there on time and we have lovely conversations.”
Helen’s chemotherapy is expected to finish in November. The plan is for her to have a left breast mastectomy and a right breast lumpectomy in February, followed by radiotherapy.
Reflecting on her experience, Helen says she wishes she had paid more attention to changes she noticed in her body but is grateful that she found the lump in her breast.
“A few months before I found my lump, I noticed every weekend after my work week ended, I was shattered,” she says. “I would do my food shop on a Saturday morning and when I got home, I found I had to lay down on the couch for a nap.
“This was not like me, as I was very active. I put it down to a possible perimenopause symptom. Looking back, I know now it was related to my breast cancer.
“And I’d actually found the lump under my left arm a few months before I found the lump in my breast. I found it accidentally and didn’t do anything about it, and I regret that."
“I don’t know if it would’ve made a difference if I had done something then, but I do know the cancer got into my left lymph nodes and I wonder if I’d got it checked sooner, would it have had less of a chance to spread? But I’m grateful that I found the lump in my left breast, and that I did something about it – it was an eye-opener.
“Nobody gets a do-over in life, but if I did get a do-over, I would’ve checked my breasts and paid more attention to the changes I noticed.”
Since her diagnosis and now, while going through treatment, Helen practises gratitude and recommends it to anyone else who’s going through cancer treatment. She is especially grateful for the support of her husband and son, her parents, sisters, in-laws and a wonderful circle of friends, and the staff of Letterkenny Hospital.
“I find that a positive mindset really helps,” says Helen. “I make sure to put aside time every day to reflect on the things that I’m grateful for. Trying to find the positive in each day really helps me.”
However, she also highlights the importance of listening to your body and accepting your changing energy levels.
“But it’s also important to remember that it’s OK if you need to take a nap during the day, there’s nothing wrong with doing that. Listen to your body and accept that on some days you’ll just have to do less. And if people offer you help and support, accept it.”
