“I knew in the back of my mind that it would be bad news. I went into the room, the doctor came in and said, ‘I have a bit of bad news for you – you have breast cancer’."
Katie Foley, 29, who is from Inch, Co. Kerry, received a breast cancer diagnosis in September 2024 after two years of struggling with symptoms including pain and itchiness in her right breast.
“I started experiencing symptoms around two-and-a-half years ago,” she says. “I had been to a GP and raised concerns about symptoms I was experiencing, like pain in the breast, itchiness and irritation. At the time, the GP didn’t seem concerned, and they didn’t find a lump. I had other things going on in my life at the time, so it was put down to stress and being rundown.
“I have a child, so I knew what breast pain was like from breastfeeding and I knew this pain was different. But the doctor wasn’t worried, so I went away and continued with my life, while still experiencing pain and symptoms. I’d wake up in the night crying in pain.”
As the months went on, Katie continued to experience breast pain and a lack of energy. In September 2023, she went to a GP for a second time. The doctor carried out a breast exam and found no lumps of concern, says Katie.
“I thought I was going mad; I started running myself down. The pain was getting worse and worse, but I was telling myself I was being a wimp, and I needed to get on with it.
“In July of this year, the pain got very bad and when I was in the shower I noticed very big lumps in my breast. I rang my mom and my sister and got them to come over and have a look, and I could tell, just by their faces, that it was bad. They looked worried and I knew it wasn’t good.
"I already knew I had breast cancer; I’d got my head around that, but then she said it was in my lymph nodes, and it might have spread. That’s when the fear went from my toes to my head.”
“I told them I wanted to go to the GP but, this time, I would insist on getting a referral. I went to a different GP; they sent me for a referral and at the end of September I saw a doctor in the hospital in Cork who looked at me. I was sent for a mammogram and biopsies. I went home, and that Friday I got a call from them telling me to come in first thing on Monday.
“I knew in the back of my mind that it would be bad news. I went into the room, the doctor came in and said, ‘I have a bit of bad news for you – you have breast cancer’. I just kept nodding. I already knew I had breast cancer; I’d got my head around that, but then she said it was in my lymph nodes, and it might have spread. That’s when the fear went from my toes to my head.”
Katie was sent for a CAT scan in Cork to find out if the cancer had spread, but the day between the scan and the results was difficult for her to handle.
“I thought, this thing has had lots of time to spread if it wanted to,” she says. “I was very shook up and I was kind of writing myself off. I was very upset, because I have a four-year-old daughter.
“All I was worried about was if I’d be leaving her behind, so those were very dark days. I kept thinking that the cancer had spread, and they’d find it everywhere. After Cork, I went straight to the hospital in Tralee. I told the doctor that I needed the results from the CAT scan, because I’d go mad just waiting at home. I told them that I had a four-year-old and the thought of me not being there for her was killing me.”
Katie received her results the next day, and was relieved when she got the news that her cancer hadn’t spread.
“I took a huge, deep breath, and I cried. I felt like the luckiest person in the world. When you get cancer, you think you’re not lucky, but when I got the news it hadn’t spread, I felt so lucky.”
Katie underwent fertility treatment and is currently receiving chemotherapy. Following this, she will have a mastectomy and lymph node removal, and the next step in her treatment after surgery will be radiotherapy. Katie has also started holding events to fundraise for cancer charities and to raise awareness of breast cancer.
“Don’t second-guess yourself,” she says. “Listen to your instincts and your gut feeling, nobody knows your body better than you. If there’s any reason for concern, get it checked and make sure you’re seen to.”
As she faces into beginning her treatment, Katie says she wants to share her concerns about the financial worries that her diagnosis brings. She ran her own coffee shop in Inch but has to close it while she’s in treatment.
“I won’t be able to work for the year, I’ve had to close my coffee shop,” she says. “I have a four-year-old girl, I have to put food on the table, so the plan was never for money to stop coming on. It puts a lot of stress on people during their cancer journey, when it’s already stressful enough.
“When you get cancer, you’ve to apply for a medical card. The fact you have to do that kind of stuff when you’re sick is another additional stress. You shouldn’t have to have a big file of paperwork and things that need to get signed and stamped. It should be fast-tracked, because it’s just too much when you’re dealing with cancer.”
Katie is also sharing her story to raise awareness of breast cancer among young women, and to encourage them to get any signs or symptoms checked out. When asked what advice she would have for other people who are experiencing unexplained symptoms, Katie says they should make sure their concerns are taken on board and that they follow their instincts.
“Don’t second-guess yourself,” she says. “Listen to your instincts and your gut feeling, nobody knows your body better than you. If there’s any reason for concern, get it checked and make sure you’re seen to.”
Want to get involved in Daffodil Day this year? Join us on March 28, and go all in against cancer! Click the button below to find out all the ways you can take part in Daffodil Day this year!
