A woman from Co Down has spoken about how she owes her life to early screening after she was diagnosed with breast cancer during lockdown.
Sinéad Hoben, 49, from Newry, had been routinely attending screenings with Action Cancer every two years since the age of 40, both on board at the Big Bus and at Action Cancer House in Belfast.
When she was 19-years-old, Sinéad found a benign lump in her breast while self-checking, which she said made her become "very pro-active" about her health.
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Breast screening is for well women who have no signs or symptoms and is the most effective tool for picking up cancers at an early and treatable stage. It's provided by Action Cancer for women aged 40-49 and 70+, with women aged between 50-70 encouraged to attend for routine screening when called by the NHS.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer type among females in Northern Ireland accounting for 30% of all cancer diagnoses among women. The latest statistics state 1,468 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and 307 die from the disease every year.
Attending a screening on March 2, 2021, Sinéad said she "thought nothing of it" initially. But two weeks later, she received a letter from the charity saying something was detected in her right breast and further investigation was required.
On April 2, she attended the Breast Clinic at Craigavon Hospital where she had a physical examination, mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy. The consultant explained they had found two suspicious areas in the right breast.
The first biopsy was normal but the second revealed a small breast cancer that would need to be operated on by lumpectomy. Sinéad said she was "really shocked" to receive a breast cancer diagnosis.
"At that moment it was like I was in a movie. It was like the chair shot back across the room and everything started to nearly go in slow motion," she told Belfast Live.
"I remember feeling my husband's hand rubbing my back, and I remember saying to the consultant, 'Are you telling me I have breast cancer?' and she said 'Unfortunately, yes, that's what it looks like.'
"I remember thinking this is the part in a movie where you cry, and I did, the tears just came. It was all absolutely surreal and terrifying in that moment.
"I remember thinking 'Is this the end? Am I going to die now? Am I going to have to have chemotherapy or radiotherapy?' I had lots of questions which nobody could answer at that stage as they needed to do further tests."
Sinéad said one of the hardest moments was having to tell her four children, Sarah (19), Jack (17), Sophia (10) and Tara (22), about her diagnosis.
She said: "We were encouraged to tell our family when we got home from hospital. I got in the car and said to my husband, how are we supposed to go home and tell the children I have cancer? I couldn't even think about telling them.
"I rang my mum as she was worrying because we'd been away for so long, so I had to tell her over the phone. It was like throwing a bomb in the family; it was just destruction everywhere, nobody knew what to do. Everybody wanted answers but we had to wait for those."
Three weeks later, Sinéad got the news that the tumour was treatable and curable, and that she would not need chemotherapy or radiotherapy as the tumour was caught very early.
Through Action Cancer, she was also able to undergo counselling during her treatment, which led to her achieving a dream.
Sinéad said: "It was still terrifying, and I'm the sort of person who goes down the darkest path, so I went online and scared the life out of myself. I had six weeks of counselling through Action Cancer too which made a massive difference.
"The counsellor was able to help me realise how resilient I was, she kept using that word which was something I never would have applied to myself. I like writing, I was a teacher and had done an English degree, so I told her one way I found to cope was by writing poetry, so she encouraged me to publish my poetry.
"That helped me hugely, when I found myself going into the dark places I would sit somewhere quiet and just take deep breaths to focus on something to write about. It would take my mind away from everything.
"It helped so much in the weeks I didn't know what was happening, and throughout the surgery and in hospital on my own."
For any women who are considering booking in for a breast screening, Sinéad said "don't even hesitate, don't even think about it, just make your appointment and turn up."
She added: "Sometimes people are put off coming because they think it's going to be painful or embarrassing, or they don't want to know. For me, it wasn't painful; it's slightly uncomfortable.
"The staff made me feel very at ease and chatted the whole way through the mammogram. At the end of the day, I'm living proof that if it is caught early you can be saved."
Breast screening appointments are now available with Action Cancer. Women aged 40-49 and 70+ can book an appointment online at www.actioncancer.org or by calling 028 9080 3344.
Action Cancer’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign launch took place at Action Cancer House in partnership with Gordons Chemists and its4women.
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