Just two days before Cavan school teacher Tara Doonan was to begin fertility treatment, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, at the age of 36.
“We had been trying to start a family for a number of years in the lead up to my diagnosis, in fact, I had an appointment for my first IVF consultation two days after my diagnosis” she tells The Irish Times Women’s Podcast.
“So my poor husband had to call them up the day after I got diagnosed to say we won’t be there tomorrow because Tara’s been diagnosed with breast cancer”.
Speaking to podcast presenter Kathy Sheridan, Doonan who is an ambassador for the Irish Cancer Society’s Daffodil Day, says the diagnosis came as a huge shock. “I’d always heard of the phrase ‘my blood ran cold’, but I never really knew, thankfully, what it meant, until that moment”.
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“You know, life had already been quite difficult for a number of years and then to get diagnosed with cancer was a real extra blow”.
Before undergoing chemotherapy treatment, Doonan and her husband, who had been eagerly anticipating the beginning of their IVF journey, decided to undergo fertility preservation instead. In a “strange twist of fate”, this procedure took place in the same clinic they had booked in with before.
“I ended up back at that clinic… but not for the reasons I thought I’d be there,” she explains. Following the treatment, the couple “were able to freeze four embryos”, which Doonan says might offer “hope to any young person going through a cancer diagnosis, [to know] that is an option out there for them”.
What came as a welcome surprise to Doonan and her husband in this difficult time, was that the fertility preservation treatment was completely free of charge. It is a free service for cancer patients offered through Rotunda IVF and The National Fertility Centre in Dublin and is funded by the HSE.
Although the treatment came at no cost to the couple, Doonan says the financial impact of a cancer diagnosis can take its toll. Costs can include travel expenses, parking charges and the loss of income. The Irish Cancer society estimates the average cost to someone dealing with cancer is €756 a month. This can rise in some cases to over €1,000.
In this episode, we also hear from Amy Nolan, Director of Clinical Affairs at the Irish Cancer Society who explains what financial support the charity can offer patients and what needs to change in order to limit the costs for those undergoing treatment.
You can listen back to this episode in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.
Daffodil Day, the Irish Cancer Society’s biggest fundraiser, takes place on Friday, March 28th, 2025.
