At the start of May 2022 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was finally referred to the hospital after 4 weeks of delay. I should have pushed to be referred the first day I rang my GP surgery as I knew something wasn’t right. Thankfully it was caught early and I got surgery at the end of May. Being told I needed chemo and other treatments was a bit of a kick in the teeth. 

Everyone kept telling me ‘when you’re better you’ll be back up those mountains again’, but I didn’t want to wait until I was ‘better’.

Talking to nurses and people who had gone through chemo helped me realise that this was just a bump in the road. Yes chemo would be rough, but I would have “good” days/weeks too. 

I had my first chemo on 3rd August - six days later I was back up the Mournes and it felt great. Eight days after that I completed the 22 mile Mourne Wall! I had wanted to do it this year but thought it was off the cards after being diagnosed. Turns out the mountains were just what I needed to keep me going! If anything, this has taught me not to put your life on hold, and to seize the opportunities to do the things you love. 

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