In the summer of 2003, Deborah Martin (44) from Castleknock in Dublin noticed some "dimpling" underneath one nipple. She had no family history of breast cancer, even though her mother is from a family of seven women.
"I wasn't too worried because I couldn't feel any lump but I said to myself that I would get it checked out - for my own peace of mind more than anything else," she says.
"I went to my doctor who couldn't feel anything but referred me for a mammogram just to confirm that all was OK.
"As soon as I walked through the door to get my results, I sensed that something was very wrong and this was confirmed when I was told that they had found something highly suspicious at the back of the breast. Without a biopsy, they couldn't confirm that it was cancer, but I knew in my heart and soul that it couldn't be much else. I was in complete and utter shock." The cancer had also spread to two lymph nodes.
"I had a month to recover from surgery before I started chemo. Fortunately, I wasn't so sick during chemo but the tiredness was overwhelming. And losing my hair was really, really hard. Luckily, I didn't lose my eyelashes or my eyebrows but I did lose my long blonde hair. I got myself a really good wig and just got on with it, but to be honest it was probably the most traumatic thing I had to go through. I then had six months of radiotherapy which was a complete walk in the park after chemo."
Last year, Deborah had reconstructive surgery and is "really happy with it".
Her second husband, Michael, was unbelievable during her illness, she says.
"On the darkest of days he remained upbeat and always made me feel attractive. When I was in the middle of chemo he got down on one knee, produced a fabulous ring and asked me to marry him. Considering I was bald with one boob at the time, I was incredibly flattered." The couple married in Italy last year.
Deborah says she leads a full and active life and doesn't think about her breast cancer so much now, although she must have a check-up every three months.
She urges all women to examine their breasts regularly and to have anything suspicious, even a slight change, investigated.
She reckons she may have had the tumour for up to two years before it was discovered, even though she did inspect her own breasts every month.
"I'm one of the women who didn't get a lump and I had breast cancer. People who have it in families are looking out for it all the time. I had done all the right things - I'm not overweight, I had breast-fed all my children and I wasn't on the pill very much all through my adult life. So I should have been a perfect candidate not to get it, and yet I did."
For further information on breast awareness or a diagnosis of breast cancer, please call the Action Breast Cancer helpline on freefone 1800 30 90 40