Ciara Foskin regularly experienced cysts, so she was no stranger to feeling lumps in her breasts. When one of those lumps began to harden near the end of 2023, she decided it was time to visit her GP.
“I was never worried about it. I really thought it was fine. I’m a vegetarian, active, sea-swimmer, non-smoker and into health,” she said.
In February 2024, the then 46-year-old was diagnosed with Stage 2B triple-negative breast cancer.
“It was a massive shock. Everything crashed around me when I found out I had cancer,” she said. “I had a grade three tumour, which is the most serious one, and triple-negative breast cancer is non-hormonal aggressive breast cancer.”
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As a result, her treatment was intense and hard on her body. She underwent three rounds of chemo, surgery and 15 rounds of radiotherapy, and then had further chemotherapy, all the while trying to care for her daughter who was nine at the time.
“I’m now in recovery since January. I’ve spent all of this year with cancer-related fatigue. But I’m hopeful now. I’m back into sea-swimming, I just had my [poetry] book launched and life is very exciting at the moment.”
Ms Foskin, from Kilkenny, was speaking as part of a breast cancer awareness campaign, launched by the Marie Keating Foundation on Wednesday.
The campaign, which is supported by Exact Sciences, is calling on women to “do it for the one you love”. It seeks to encourage women to regularly self-check their breasts to support the early detection of breast cancer.
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The campaign follows recent figures that show BreastCheck – the State’s breast cancer screening programme, which offers free screening to women aged 50 to 69 usually every two to three years – missed its screening target for the last two years. This resulted in more than 76,000 women left waiting for screening.
This, combined with the rising diagnoses among younger women who are not eligible for screening, has prompted the charity to raise awareness among women about the importance of monitoring their own bodies.
Helen Forristal, director of nursing services at the Marie Keating Foundation, said women must “look and feel for any changes”.
“Look out for new lumps, rashes, puckering, inverted nipples or pain. If you notice anything that is unusual for you, go get it checked. It could be nothing but if it is something, early detection will lead to a more positive outcome and easier treatment path,” she said.
This is something to which Ms Foskin can directly attest. She had no symptoms of cancer other than the hardening lump, and she was too young to be eligible for BreastCheck screening.
“Really it was only for the lump was a bit hard that I said: ‘Oh, I’d better get that checked out.’ I was too young for screening, and that’s why self-examination is so important. Don’t let you tell yourself you’re worried about nothing.”
