Sabina Higgins receiving treatment for breast cancer

Sabina Higgins, wife of President Michael D Higgins, is undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Áras an Uachtaráin confirmed that Mrs Higgins yesterday underwent a procedure as part of ongoing treatment.

In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon, Mrs Higgins said: “I would like to express my sincere thanks to the doctors and medical staff who are providing me with such expert care in my treatment.”

She said she was taking the opportunity to call on women to be aware of the symptoms of breast cancer, and to seek checks as regularly as they can.

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“It may come as a surprise to many people to learn that the risk of breast cancer increases with age and that 36% of women diagnosed with breast cancer in Ireland are over the age of 70,” she said.

“While BreastCheck screening runs for women up to the age of 69, I would urge all women over the age of 70 of the vital importance of continuing to look for any potential symptoms of breast cancer on a regular basis and to seek medical checks whenever possible.”

The statement did not include any details around when Mrs Higgins was first diagnosed.

Mrs Higgins last year opened the Beaumont Hospital Breast Care Centre and pointed out that nearly everyone will know someone who has been affected by a breast cancer diagnosis.

She said behind every diagnosis “is a sudden shift into a new and unfamiliar world of tests and treatments”.

Ms Higgins said it was “an enormous experience” for anyone to go through.

She told the gathering that she has “so many friends who have had breast cancer, and thankfully many of them survived”.

“But I know what an enormous thing it is to happen to someone, and what enormous care they need and are given to come through that and hopefully to survive.”

She praised all of the medical professionals who help women through their diagnoses.

President Higgins has previously described his wife as his “rock.” They met in 1969 at a party in the home of journalist Mary Kenny, when he was 28 and she was 27.