Cork cancer survivor Niamh reminds all of importance of breast checks

As Breast Cancer Ireland officially launched a major fundraiser, a young Cork woman has shared her story of overcoming breast cancer and raising awareness of how breast cancer can affect someone at any stage of life.

In 2022, Niamh O’Donoghue was “living her best life” and teaching in Abu Dhabi.

However things took a completely different turn when she discovered a lump while in the Middle East, which ultimately saw her diagnosed with stage two breast cancer.

Speaking to The Echo, Ms O’Donoghue said: “At 29 you are not thinking you will be getting breast cancer or maybe checking.

“So for me it is very important to spread awareness and to let everyone know it is not an old person’s disease.

“I was just very lucky that I came across the lump.

“It was June and I was due to come home for the summer. So, I went and got all my tests down in Abu Dhabi.

“I arrived home to Ireland and unfortunately, I got the call to say that the lump was cancerous. So, then I went straight into treatment.

“I had two surgeries, I had chemotherapy and thankfully I was one of the lucky ones who caught it early.”

Ms O’Donoghue added: “It was a big bump in the road for me when you are 29, and [it was] very unexpected.

“Bar finding the lump, I really didn’t have any other symptoms. I was fit, I was healthy, I was gymming.”

According to statistics from Breast Cancer Ireland, 23% of women are diagnosed between the ages of 20-50 years, with 34% of women diagnosed between the ages of 50-69 years.

Diagnosed

The organisation also states that every 29 seconds, someone in the world is diagnosed with breast cancer.

Ms O’Donoghue said: “That is the other thing about breast cancer now. If you do catch it early, it is so treatable and curable. It is not a death notice anymore.

“It is important to check yourself because you can be feeling fine. But this could be going on inside of your body and you have no idea.”

Thankfully for Ms O’Donoghue she is now out on the other side of the journey. Following treatment, she went back to Abu Dhabi to finish the school year there.

Fast forward to August of 2025, she is back in Cork, enjoying the remaining days of the summer holidays before returning to the teaching day job for the upcoming academic year.

Ms O’Donoghue concluded: “My message would just be that if you think there is something wrong with your body or if you think that there is something you need to get checked out, just go and get it checked out.

“If you are not getting the answers you want or if you think there is something wrong, don’t be afraid to push it and go somewhere else.

“You don’t have to feel sick to be sick. You can be fit and healthy, but there could be other things going on in your body that you are not aware of.

“Don’t be afraid to get things checked out.”

Ms O’Donoghue is an ambassador for the Breast Cancer Ireland Very Pink Run, which this year in Cork takes place at MTU Bishopstown on Sunday, September 7.

For further information on the Breast Cancer Ireland Very Pink Run and to register, visit www.verypinkrun.ie.