Laois mother bravely takes on breast cancer survivor campaign

A Laois mother of three little boys has bravely joined a groundbreaking new breast cancer awareness campaign to try save lives.

Laura Hughes who lives near Mountmellick is one of six Irish cancer survivors fronting the poster campaign, baring their scarred chests to urge other women and men to self check for signs of breast cancer.

The Breast Cancer Ireland campaign highlights the disturbing statistic that only a quarter of Irish women currently check themselves regularly. Laura's poster states 'My scar saved my life, I hope it saves yours too',

Laura who is from Kildare is now settled in The Rock with husband Noel and their little boys Bobby aged 5, Riley aged 3 and 2 year old Olly.

Laura and Alan on her 40th birthday last February and their little boys Bobby, Riley and Olly.

She told the Leinster Express / Laois Live that taking part in the campaign is "keeping my head busy" while she nervously awaits more tests. 

Laura first found a lump in her right breast as she dressed to go out to celebrate her 40th birthday last February.

There was a family history of breast cancer so Laura had checked herself frequently but still couldn't quite believe it.

"I kept it to myself for a week then I said it to my husband and he said he couldn't feel it. Then my GP said it was hormonal but with our medical history he referred me to St James's."

Two mammograms, an ultrasound and seven biopsies followed and in March Laura received a diagnosis of "very early DCIS", a cancer of the milk ducts in her right breast. It was described to her as being "extensive".

Laura agreed to the option of a mastectomy, but it was a long wait of 12 weeks before the operation took place last June.

"That really still bothers me. I had six additional tumours by then. It just seemed so long to wait in anxiety and stress. My boys are so young I need to get better for them, I was worried it was spreading.

"Every time I saw a consultant they kept reassuring me it couldn't grow in that time, but it did, massively. They call it upstaging. Essentially I had two different types of cancer, DCIS and HER2- positive," she said, referring to a second, faster growing cancer.

She found great support from the Breast Cancer Ireland charity during that time and since, getting answers to her questions direct from their experts including chair Professor Arnie Hill who is a surgeon.

"The cancer is gone now, I'm halfway through my chemo, it's a rough road. The chemo is to make sure there is nothing left, then I'll be on injections every three months for a year. The older boys know what's going on, that mam has a good booby and a bad booby. I try to make everything normal for them," she said.

She had to have two types of chemotherapy for the two types of breast cancer. One caused "horrific mouth problems" and the other nausea.

"If that's all I have to worry about then we're laughing," she said.

Laura as a patient ambassador for the Breast Cancer Ireland Very Pink Run this year.

Laura must rest and keep away from bugs as much as possible during treatment, but still manages to bring the older boys to school and playschool.

"It's organised chaos here at the minute, I'm blessed that my mam moved in to help. I'm not one to be sitting around," she said.

Laura is full of determination to get well again. 

"My boys are so young, I need to get better for them," she said. 

Losing a breast is traumatic but Laura sees the positive. 

"In my head it's a means to an end. That's the cancer gone. There is reconstruction available, but they couldn't do it instantly. I have a balloon filled with saline to keep the skin stretched," she explains.

Laura is also using her determination to focus on the campaign.

"My main reason is because only one in four women check themselves regularly. That's scary. Men and women should check at least once a month. That's the whole focus of the campaign. You will never know if something is different if you don't know what it feels like and looks like normally. The app BreastAware shows you how to check.

"If I can make even one person check themselves it will be worth it. This campaign will saves lives. BCI were eight years trying to get it approved, they were told Ireland wasn't ready for this. It's so powerful, that's why it was done, you'd look at it twice," she said.

Laura (left) with the other campaign leaders at a preview screening in the Mayson Hotel of Breast Cancer KNOW MORE, Ireland's first survivor-led breast cancer awareness campaign, developed by Breast Cancer Ireland, and supported by Novartis, to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 

Despite the disease being the number one most common invasive cancer affecting women in Ireland, Only 25% of women regularly check their breasts - with a further 51% doing so ‘only occasionally’ or ‘when they happen to remember’

Only 15% of young women aged 18-34 are self-checking on a regular basis and 35% of younger women say they ‘don’t know how to’ check their breasts

Only 36% of all women say they are aware of the signs and symptoms of the disease – with awareness even lower amongst younger females (26%).

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53% report knowing ‘only some’ of the 8 signs whilst 86% of women recognise that a lump on the breast or a swelling in the armpit is a possible sign of breast cancer. Only 41% are aware of the lesser-known symptoms of a rash on / around the nipple.

Every year in Ireland, more than 3,700 women are diagnosed with breast cancer, and an estimated 730 lives are still lost each year. While survival rates have improved dramatically, early detection remains the single greatest factor in saving lives.

Visit www.breastcancerknowmore.ie