It is not normal to be grateful for a delayed hospital appointment, but for Anna Hickey, it was extremely fortunate.
Had her mammogram gone ahead as scheduled, cancer cells would not have been detected.
“My routine over-50 breast scan was delayed due to Covid. So when I finally had it done in August 2023, something showed up and I was called back for another check,” she says.
“I initially thought that it was because I had fainted during the mammogram [due to low blood pressure] and they didn’t get a clear picture, but then, after the second scan, I was told I needed further investigation.”
Hickey, now aged 55, underwent a third mammogram, an ultrasound and a biopsy and was shocked to be diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, an early form of breast cancer.
“This would not have been picked up if I’d had my mammogram on the original date, and then by the time I went for another one, it would have been a very different outcome,” she says. “When they told me initially, I said that they must have made a mistake, it wasn’t possible that I had cancer as I didn’t have any symptoms.”
Hickey had a lymph node removed in December 2023 and a mastectomy on her right breast a few months later.
“Thankfully, the cancer hadn’t spread, so I didn’t need further treatment and was able to have a reconstruction at the same time. This meant that when I woke up from surgery, I wasn’t faced with the loss of a breast,” she adds.
“But the reconstruction was done using skin and blood vessels from my stomach, so recovery was very long and slow, as I had a number of infections. I also needed extensive physiotherapy because, due to the 40cm scar on my stomach, I had spent months hunched over to try and protect it, so I had to work on correcting that.”
The IT professional and mother of two, who lives with her husband and children in Cork, is actively involved in Korean martial arts, which meant she was fit and healthy before her diagnosis.
“I had initially thought I would only be off work for about eight weeks, but it was actually 12 months in total,” says Hickey. “But although recovery took longer than I expected, I feel so lucky that the cancer was caught in time, my treatment went well and I made a full recovery.”
Hickey went back to martial arts in February of last year, a year after surgery, and competed at the Kuk Sool Won European Championships in Rotterdam last September.
“I was promoted to Jo Kyo Nim 1st degree, won two medals and was awarded a black belt. So I am doing very well,” she adds.
The Irish Cancer Society’s Daffodil Day fundraising initiative takes place on Friday, with the charity hoping to raise more than €6 million to help it provide services such as counselling, night nursing and transport for patients.
Hickey says she would encourage everyone to attend any screening appointments they are offered, “whether it’s BreastCheck or a smear test”, or whatever it might be.
“You might feel like you haven’t got time, but they are so important,” she says. “If I hadn’t gone for mine, the cancer would have travelled and the journey I went on would have been entirely different and the outcome might not have been the same. Go to the scans, go to the checks – and if you’re diagnosed, talk to people. Whatever you’re going through, someone has gone through it already.”
Hickey says talking to others in a similar situation and accepting help from family and friends can make all the difference. For those who don’t have a support system at home, the society’s staff and nurses are available to offer practical and emotional support.
“Although I didn’t have to think about whether or not my cancer would be fatal or having to worry about my children, it still made me think about the fact that we might be a bit more vulnerable than we think, and small things can upset us,” she adds.
“I was also very lucky with the martial arts community, as they were a great support throughout – also getting my black belt was a fabulous achievement. I am very thankful for everything and feeling positive about the future.”