IF WHAT happened to Juliette O’Connell from County Limerick happened 20 years ago, she might never have seen her daughter in a debs dress or watch her sons go off to college.
Juliette maintains she is alive today, 12 years free of breast cancer, because of cancer trials and research funded by events such as the Very Pink Run, which takes place in Cork on September 8.
A Herbertstown native now living in Kilteely, Juliette was happy, fit, and healthy when she first noticed a rash across her collar bone and left breast which would fade and return.
“I was 41 years old when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. There was no family history in my family and I was a keen cyclist. For me at 41, I wasn’t breast aware. I didn’t know the signs and symptoms of breast cancer apart from a lump,” she told the Limerick Post.
“When my son got sick in October, I took him to the doctor. I thought I might as well get two seen for the price of one. I showed the doctor the rash and she sent a letter to the breast care unit in Limerick to get it checked out.
“She wasn’t concerned, so I wasn’t either. I never thought for one minute that this could be breast cancer. I had no weight loss, no tiredness – I was fit, healthy, and well, enjoying my cycling and training for different events”.
After being referred for a mammogram by her doctor, Juliette says she developed a sore nipple. When she did have the mammogram, the Limerick mother had a biopsy on the same day and was “absolutely shocked when the consultant told me it was breast cancer, all in one day and 10 months after I first saw the rash”.
Juliette was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer and put on a trial treatment of the drug Herceptin, along with chemotherapy and radio therapy and underwent surgery.
12 years later, she is now a member of the Breast Cancer Ireland family and working as one of their outreach coordinators in the Munster area, as well as being the Limerick ambassador for the Very Pink Run.
Today, Juliette runs talks and education programmes all over the region.
“The run is so very important because we need to keep funding research and trials. They are the reason that I and a lot of other people are alive today.
“We also need to keep educating people. Breast cancer is not just about finding a lump and the earlier we raise awareness, even among school students, the more lives will be saved”.
The Very Pink Run, which takes place on the grounds of the Munster Technological University in Cork this year, has both a physical and a ‘virtual’ run, with the live events also planned to run in Dublin Cork and Kilkenny from August 31 to September 8.
Those interested in taking part can register on verypinkrun.ie.
