A NI woman has told how breast screening saved her life. 52-year-old Michele Cowan lives in Newtownabbey with her partner Sean and daughters Chloe, 24, and Nicole, 19.
Michele, who works in Financial Services and also volunteers at Abbey Gymnastics Club, is certain that a breast screening at Action Cancer House in 2017 saved her life.
She said: “It was my best friend in work, Lesley, who encouraged me to go for my first breast screening, I was 43 at the time. We work together in a Financial Services firm in South Belfast. My best friend’s sister had been diagnosed at the age of 37 and it had recently come back when she was aged 41.
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“With breast cancer at the forefront of my mind I decided to take action. We phoned up to make our appointments and went together one day after work. We were both quite nervous so it was nice to go along together and to support each other. I didn’t find the screening uncomfortable; it was pretty quick and easy.”
Within two weeks, Michele and Lesley both received clear results. Two years later Action Cancer wrote to both women to invite them to attend for their routine screening.
The friends went along again and were pleased to receive clear results. It was another two years later in April 2017, when Michele was 47 she attended for her third screening that something was detected by Action Cancer and she was then referred on for further investigation.
“I took my sister along with me to the breast cancer clinic at Antrim Area Hospital. The consultant examined me but could not identify anything from physical examination. He said the reason I had been referred was because Action Cancer had a screening history for me, they were able to identify that a change had occurred between my second and third mammogram.
“I then had a mammogram at the hospital and following this they sent me for an ultrasound with a fine needle biopsy. Alarm bells started to ring in my head at this point, it was very frightening," she said.
The Newtownabbey woman was told that preliminary findings indicated that it 'looked like breast cancer' but that she would have to return a few days later for the final biopsy results.
She said: “I tried to keep myself busy for those three days but it was incredibly difficult not knowing for sure what I was dealing with. I spoke to family and friends and this helped but I decided not to tell my younger daughter Nicole until my diagnosis was confirmed.”
Michele attended the follow up appointment with her sister where she received her breast cancer diagnosis. The tumour was approximately 2cm in size, located in the right breast in the top half and at the back.
The mum-of-two was advised to have a lumpectomy and that sentinel nodes would be removed during this operation to check to see if the cancer had spread.
“I was terribly upset on hearing this news. But at the same time, it felt good to know, it was better than being in the limbo period, waiting on answers.
“I then went back to work. This is how I deal with things. Normality allows me to cope. Otherwise, I’d have just sat and gone to pieces. My brain would have gone into overdrive, I needed a distraction," she said.
Michele had a lumpectomy on 8th July. Ten days later she returned to see the Consultant who informed her of the good news that the lump had been removed with clear margins and the cancerous cells had not spread to the lymph nodes.
Michelle’s treatment required four weeks of radiotherapy and to take tamoxifen for five years - but not chemotherapy.
“I was very relieved to hear that news. In my head I was prepared to go through chemo if needed and all the nasty side effects that you hear about. I’d do what I’d have to do but it was such a relief I didn’t have to go through this - one less thing to tackle in my recovery.
“In May of this year I had my five year mammogram and received clear results, then on 4th July I had my five year oncology review where they recommended all medication to be stopped.
“I am celebrating by taking 16 gymnastic students to a competition in Switzerland called Eurogym2022. My daughters are also coming in their roles as coaches.
“I am so thankful to Action Cancer for detecting my cancer at an early and treatable stage which has allowed me to enjoy my life and spend this quality time with my daughters doing the sport we love.”
Since 2019 the charity's ‘Breast Friends’ campaign has encouraged groups of friends to get together in social settings and fundraise. Every £120 raised covers the cost of one breast screening appointment with Action Cancer.
Its4women partnered with Action Cancer, pledging to match all fundraising up to the value of £30,000 per year, totalling a financial commitment of £90,000 from 2019 to 2022. To date the campaign has generated over £153,000 and provided nearly 1,500 breast screenings for local women.
Action Cancer’s breast screening service is unique to Northern Ireland and is available to women aged 40-49 and over 70 — those who fall outside the NHS screening age range (50 – 70). The service is always free to the user. However, each appointment costs the charity £120.
With no regular government funding Action Cancer is reliant upon community and corporate fundraising in order to deliver this life-saving service which is available both at Action Cancer House in Belfast and on board the Big Bus mobile screening unit which travels to over 200 locations each year. For every 1,000 breast screenings Action Cancer detects six cancers. For more information on Action Cancer’s services, call 028 9080 3344 or visit www.actioncancer.org
To get your free Breast Friends fundraising pack call Leigh Osborne on 07928 668543 or email events@actioncancer.org
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