Daffodil Diaries - Anne Clinton

“In April 2024, my whole world changed. I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It felt like it came out of nowhere and in many ways, you could say my diagnosis was a complete accident."

Anne Clinton from North County Dublin was in for an appointment with her GP. While Anne was there, she asked her GP to renew her HRT prescription which was due.

“My GP began by checking my blood pressure and afterwards proceeded with a breast exam. She said she thought she felt something unusual on my left breast, a slight thickening. To be safe, she referred me on to the Breast Clinic for a triple assessment. 

At the time I thought to myself, ‘is this overkill’? There’s no history of breast cancer in my family.  I had to take the day off work to attend the appointment, which wasn’t ideal as I was busy at the time. My husband accompanied me to the appointment which at first, I resisted, but I was so glad he came in the end.

The appointment began, and everything initially seemed to be fine, the doctor examined me and said it was probably a cyst, but we would go ahead and do the scans to be sure. After the mammogram however, the radiographer called me in to speak with her. She said she wasn’t concerned about my left breast, that there was a cyst present. However, she had found an ‘unknown’ on my right breast.

I could hardly process what she was saying, I felt like the rug had been pulled out from underneath me. I was floored – I had no unusual symptoms on my right breast. I had breastfed my children, I didn’t smoke, I thought ‘why me’? I had been very tired over the previous months, but what working mother wasn’t tired? The radiographer said she had to take a biopsy to know exactly what we were dealing with.

Less than two weeks later, my husband and I were back in the Breast Clinic speaking to the surgeon. It was confirmed, its cancer. An incidental finding - Lobular Carcinoma in Situ. The surgeon was clear and direct – he reassured us it was at an early stage, likely present for less than a year and treatable.

He was putting me on an oestrogen suppressant table to halt the growth of the tumour until a treatment plan was confirmed. Initially they thought the tumour was about 15mm, so felt a lumpectomy would be the best approach. But following further scans, it was found that the tumour was much bigger, around 6cm.

“The surgeon then recommended a mastectomy. This changed things in my mind, I felt as though I could handle a lumpectomy, I could hang on to some sort of normality. But a mastectomy felt like a whole different ball game."

After assessment with the Plastic surgeon and being confirmed as a suitable candidate, I opted for a mastectomy with an immediate DIEP flap reconstruction. It was a slow recovery, but I was grateful to have been able to have both surgeries in one sitting.

Results from the surgery were good, the surgeon was confident he got it all. My lymph nodes were clear. The tumour ended up being 77 mm in size, I was shocked at how big it was. I was a 34B bra size, so I felt like if there was something there, I would have known about it. I thought to myself ‘where was that hiding’?

My story prompted several of my friends to get screened, one of whom discovered she had precancerous cells and thankfully it got addressed.

Due to the tumour size, it was decided to continue with treatment as a precaution. My oncologist prescribed concurrent chemo and radiation, lasting a total of 28 weeks. I saw this as an ‘insurance policy’. Looking back now, it seems like it went by so quickly, but when you are living through it, it felt like a lifetime.

I tolerated the treatment and managed the side effects, but I have to say, I have never felt fatigue like I did post treatment.

"The nurses on the Support Line were able to explain things in layman’s terms and lend a compassionate and professional ear. It felt like I was talking to a friend, and I was so happy to have them as my first stop. "

When all the active treatment was finished, I think that’s when the emotional and psychological toll of everything hit me. There is an expectation that you will just snap back to normal, but that certainly wasn’t my experience. The fatigue continued, along with joint pain and brain fog.

I reached out to the Irish Cancer Society Support Line after I was initially diagnosed. I was so shell shocked and scrambling for trusted information. I felt I had been given a lot of information – but it all felt very clinical and complex.  The nurses on the Support Line were able to explain things in layman’s terms and lend a compassionate and professional ear. It felt like I was talking to a friend, and I was so happy to have them as my first stop. Each time I spoke with them, they were always fantastic. I was on high alert after being diagnosed, any strange sensation or niggle would worry me, they would always reassure me that things were normal.  On their recommendation I also attended The Garry Kelly Centre in Drogheda, one of the Irish Cancer Society affiliated centres. I got great support here and had the opportunity to meet other people on their cancer journey.

I am now thankfully doing much better and on hormone treatment for the next few years. I feel incredibly lucky that my GP gave me a breast exam that day, my message to anyone reading this is to please check yourself and go for all your checkups, don’t delay or postpone. Don’t ignore any worrying signs of symptoms. Early detection is so important.