SHARON FELTON

‘THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE WILLING TO LISTEN AND HELP’

Sharon, 44, lives in Wicklow with her husband and two children. Working as a special needs assistant in a primary school, she says she found a lump ‘almost instinctively’ and went to see her GP immediately, who referred her for tests, which confirmed the dreaded news that she had cancer. She says:

‘I woke up suddenly one night in May and felt as though I was going to be sick – for some reason, my hand went straight to a lump in my breast. I remember the blood draining from my body, and I woke my husband to tell him.

I was taking our son to the doctor the following morning, so when he was finished, I asked the doctor if I could speak to him and after explaining about the lump, he examined me and referred me to hospital.

I immediately knew that it was cancer as my mum had it when she was the same age as me – she survived, but passed away suddenly six years ago and I lost my dad to brain cancer ten years ago.

Waiting for an appointment was so hard, but two weeks later, I went in for a triple assessment and although the nurses were reassuring, I just had an awful feeling.

I was told to come in the following week for results and to bring someone with me. I was really nervous and when the doctor broke the news that it was triple negative breast cancer, my husband and I just looked at each other. I felt a bit of relief as I knew they would then start to put a plan in place and after having some tests and scans, I met the oncologist, who told us the treatment plan she had for me. To hear that I needed chemotherapy was scary, but I started it at the end of July and am still on it.

After it’s finished, I will start another type of chemo, then the plan is that I will have a lumpectomy and radiation. The treatment is going well even though some of the side-effects are tough. When I found out that I was going to lose my hair, I decided to cut it off and donate it as a fundraiser – I managed to raise €4,400 for LauraLynn, which I was delighted with.

Then, when my hair started to fall out, my husband shaved it for me, it was all very emotional.

I’m very open and honest about my journey and share updates on Facebook and Instagram. I really want to raise awareness of the importance of self-checking. I’m lucky that I caught mine early as this is so important, and I’ve received messages from people who are now checking themselves after seeing my journey online.

Since my diagnosis my whole outlook on life has changed and I don’t take anything for granted. I know I have a long way to go but I’m going to fight with everything I’ve got.

I would say to anyone else going through cancer to know they are not alone as there is always someone willing to listen and help.’