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Two years ago, Nicky Doyle was in the middle of launching a new business, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. ?I was on holidays and noticed a very small amount of bleeding on the inside of my bikini; it was literally like a pin prick.? The initial diagnosis was an infected duct and Nicky was scheduled for surgery, but then the doctors discovered it was cancer and it had spread to her lymph nodes. She had a full mastectomy and underwent chemo and radiation and started her reconstruction last summer.
The hardest part?The fertility issue was very difficult for me. I was only 27 and we were young getting married and wanted to have a family young, and that was very difficult to discover that that may or may not happen now. When I was diagnosed and before I had chemo, they sent me into the HARI Clinic to take embryos, but it didn’t work, so we just have to wait and see what the future holds, and hopefully it will work out, but we know that it may not, so we may adopt. We will have a family some way.
Best piece of advice she received??Take each stage as it comes. Don’t try to race to the end because you kind of go into automatic pilot and want to get it over and done with. It’s an ongoing thing and it’s something you’re going to be worrying about for the rest of your life, it’s something that you have to learn to deal with. Manage the fear. It gets easier as time moves on.?
How it has impacted on her life?I won’t let it define me. It’s part of the journey, and cancer will always be a part of who I am. I’ll always have my scars, but you just have to truck on. It gave me perspective on life. You don’t question that you’re not going to be here forever, especially when you’re 27. It brought my husband and myself even closer. I knew we were fairly strong and we were together from the age of 16, so we grew up together, but hopefully, this is the shit and we’ll have good things happen to us in the future. I know he’ll always be there for me, and vice versa.
If you want to make a DONATION to the Irish Cancer Society you can CallSave 1850 60 60 60 or visit here.
If you want to fundraise to help support those with breast cancer you can join the Irish Cancer Society’s Get the Girls campaign by ringing CallSave 1850 60 60 60 or visit www.getthegirls.ie
For more on our Real Women and breast cancer pick up a copy of IMAGE on newsstands now.