‘I am now incredibly well and the experience of breast cancer has made me stronger’

Instead of burning your bra, the Marie Keating Foundation is calling on the women of Ireland to donate their unwanted bras to help raise money for breast cancer research.

The cancer charity is asking women to drop off bras, in any size, colour or style, at various points across the country; it will receive €1 per item, and the bras will then be recycled and used in secondary-school fashion projects.

Liz Yeates is the foundation’s director of public affairs and, while she is anxious to raise funds and awareness for the charity, having had breast cancer herself she knows exactly how important it is for women to be aware of their bodies and to seek help as soon as they realise something is amiss.

“Two years ago I was working for Concern and was washing under a cold tap in Africa when I felt a hard lump on my right breast,” recalls the 50-year-old. “I had had cysts in the past, so just assumed this was another one and didn’t worry about it until I returned home and visited my doctor five or six weeks later.

“He also assumed it was a cyst, but, to be on the safe side, he sent me for a triple assessment in St Vincent’s hospital. It happened to be on my 48th birthday.”

Anxious

Convinced that it was nothing to worry about, Liz didn’t tell anyone she was having tests done and headed to the hospital alone. However, she began to feel anxious when she was advised to bring someone with her the following week to get the test results.

“I had an examination and a mammogram, which showed up clear, but when I went for an ultrasound, not only was the lump identified, but it detected another one deeper in the breast tissue,” she says. “I had biopsies done on both lumps and was told to come back the following week and to make sure to bring someone with me. Then I realised that things may be worse than I thought.

“The days that followed were awful and I was very emotional, particularly because the day I was due to get my results was the anniversary of my mother’s death. I told myself that I would never get bad news on such a sad day – but I was wrong.”

Liz and her husband, Adrian, were told that she had two malignant tumours that were completely unrelated to each other, and, because of this, she was advised to have a mastectomy.

“I had spent the week preparing myself for the fact that I might have cancer, but when I heard the word mastectomy I completely fell apart,” she says. “I was so shocked and almost felt like I was having an out-of-body experience.

“Luckily, Adrian was with me, as I didn’t take anything in – and while coming to terms with the awful news, I then had to undergo other scans and tests to ensure the cancer hadn’t spread anywhere else.

“After a very stressful couple of weeks, I was told that it was contained to the breast and I could go ahead and have a mastectomy and a reconstruction done. It would be a long process, but at this point I just wanted to get on with it.”

Five weeks after diagnosis, Liz, who has three children – Cillian (20), Ellie (18) and Marese (14) – underwent surgery.

Two months later, she began a gruelling programme of chemotherapy which was followed by weeks of radiotherapy. Throughout all that, she remained strong and her family rallied around.

“Although I found it hard to believe what was happening to me, I was proud of the way I coped,” she says. “I told my children about my diagnosis, but didn’t go into too much detail as I didn’t want to worry them unnecessarily.

“They were all fantastic, and at the time Cillian was doing his Leaving Cert so being ill meant I was around to take him to and from school and was there for him and the girls every evening.

“I chose a wig and had my head shaved before my hair began to fall out, and while the chemotherapy made me very tired, I wasn’t too sick as I had anti-nausea medication.

“Mind you, it did play havoc with my tummy and I suffered a lot with diarrhoea and constipation. Then, once the chemo was over, I had to wait four weeks before starting radiation, which lasted for six weeks. This wasn’t too bad; I just felt exhausted until I finished everything in June 2013.”

Brother’s illness

During her treatment, Liz discovered that her brother Ronan had leukaemia and this was particularly worrying as their other brother, James, had died from a blood disorder when he was just 44.

The siblings were able to support each other through their respective illnesses and are both now in the full of their health.

“I was devastated to hear that Ronan had leukaemia, especially as we initially thought it could be what James had, but luckily he made a great recovery – and it was nice because we were both able to support each other,” she says.

“I am now incredibly well and I think the experience has made me much stronger as a person. I have a healthier lifestyle and am very aware of my body.

“My colleagues at Concern were amazing throughout my ordeal but when the job came up at Marie Keating, I felt that not only was it time for a change, but it was an issue so close to my heart. So now I can really relate to others who have just been diagnosed, as I have actually been in their shoes.

“Early detection is everything when it comes to treating cancer, and this is why it is so important that people are aware of what to look for and when to go to the doctor. And by donating a used bra to our campaign, women will be helping to support the thousands of others who are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.”