'Examine yourself regularly' urges Drumsurn mum who has spoken out about her brave battle with breast cancer

A County Derry woman has spoken of her brave battle with breast cancer and has urged others to be aware of the importance of checking themselves regularly.

Karen Green was left shocked when she received the devastating cancer diagnosis towards the end of last year, just days after one of her best friends found out she had breast cancer.

The Drumsurn woman admitted that she only decided to check her breasts when she found out about her friend's illness.

“At the end of October, I received a telephone call from one of my best friends to tell me she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She was totally devastated, we cried on the phone and I told her I would be here for her and we would get through this,” said Karen, who works as School Secretary at Termoncanice PS and Nursery unit in Limavady.

“Later that evening I decided to examine my breasts, something I didn’t do as often as I should. I was always too afraid of finding something.

“I found the lump immediately but decided not to tell anyone, until I seen my GP. I saw my GP the next day and got my appointment at the breast screening unit at Altnagelvin within 10 days. I was given a Mammogram, Ultra Scan and biopsy and was asked to come back a week later for my results, they said everything looked okay they just needed to be sure. Having heard this I was happy enough that I was okay. I returned on Friday 17^th of November to be told I had a 2cm tumour and I did have breast cancer.

“That’s the only thing I heard, after that Simon, my husband, took over asking the questions and taking in the information.

“The only questions I had for my consultant was 'am I going to die' he said a very firm 'no' and 'will I lose my hair' and he said 'yes'. It may be strange to some people, but at that moment loosing my hair was my biggest fear.”

Karen has nothing but praise for her assigned breast nurse, Megan, who she said was her 'rock' for the tough weeks and months that followed.

“I asked Megan how to tell my two daughters, who are 24 and 26. They had expected me to come home and tell them everything was okay. I wasn’t strong enough to tell them that night, so Simon called them,” continued Karen.

“I‘m from a very close family, my mum, two sisters, brother and extended family. I also have amazing friends and I knew that with all this support I would get through this. I decided against wearing a wig as I found it too uncomfortable, so I resorted to scarves of every colour to match what I was wearing.”

After going through Chemotherapy and successful surgery, Karen is currently undergoing Radiotherapy and will continue with preventative treatment until Spring next year.

“I went through a series of tests and scans during the next few weeks, it felt like I was never leaving the hospital but I knew that this would now be the norm for the foreseeable future,” she said.

“My Chemotherapy began on 14 December 2023, less than two weeks before Christmas. Chemotherapy was six sessions every three weeks. I had my last Chemotherapy on 28 March 2024. I underwent surgery in April which was a success. I am currently undergoing ten sessions of Radiotherapy and I will continue with preventative treatment to March 2025. I’m doing really well at the minute, even though I am now cancer free I still have bad days and there are days that I struggle with the fact that I had this horrendous disease. Thankfully my good days outweigh the bad days, my positivity and fight has got me to the stage I am at presently.”

Amazingly, Karen managed to work throughout her treatment, however she said this would not have been possible had it not been for the support she received from Termoncanice.

“The support I have received from the school – Board of Governors, Principal, staff, pupils, parents and Friends of Termoncanice - has been something I could never put into words,” she said.

“As a result of this I have continued to work throughout my whole treatment. Although this may not be for most people, work took my mind off my ongoing treatment.”

Staff at the school were so inspired by Karen's bravery that they decided to hold a fundraiser for breast cancer, raising £1,000.

“Mr McCloskey, the Principal told me that the school would like to donate for breast cancer so through the raffle from the end of year Primary 7 show and a sponsored cycle from our Nursery we raised a total of £1,000 for the Breast Screening Unit at Altnagelvin Hospital,” Karen said.

“This is a fantastic amount of money for a really worthy cause. The unit has been a life saver for so many and we are so lucky to have this facility in our area. I am very grateful to the school for making this donation. We chose the Breast Screening Unit as the beneficiary because we wanted the money to stay in Northern Ireland and since my diagnosis, we have become aware of others in the school community who have been diagnosed. The money has been donated to the unit and they were very grateful.”

Urging others to examine their breasts regularly, Karen added: “I will continue to raise more awareness of breast cancer, we are making arrangements for the Action Cancer Big Bus to come to the school at the end of this year. This is a service which I used regularly in the past up to the age 50 were I then was seen NHS mammogram every three years.

“As we all know early detection is key to treating any disease and I would urge everyone to examine yourself regularly. If anything at all doesn’t feel right then speak to your GP and get it checked, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”