What A Difference A Day Makes: Eavanna Breen on discovering pre-cancerous cells in her breast
Eavanna Breen tells Helen O’Callaghan about discovering she had pre-cancerous cells in her breast, about the impact of this, particularly as her mum had died from breast cancer – and how the whole experience has been a “tap on the shoulder”, reminding her of what’s important in life
Eavanna Breen: "My mother died of breast cancer in 2008 and my aunt too in 1987 — she was only 36. So going through my mind that day was all they had gone through." Picture: Moya Nolan.
Fri, 28 Mar, 2025 - 14:46
Helen O’Callaghan
I live on Dublin’s northside and in September 2023 I had to travel to the southside to get my car serviced. I hadn’t a clue where I was going and, while I was searching for the garage, I got a phone call.
The hospital wanted me to come in for a second biopsy of my breast. Not too long earlier I’d had a mammogram and they’d seen calcification. I’d never heard of that but the nurse said it was very normal in a woman of my age — I was going through the menopause. She said the majority of the time it’s nothing. So they did a biopsy that day.
And now they were ringing me to come for another one. I had to stop the car, pull over. I cried. I was just overwhelmed, not knowing where I was going, and then this very upsetting phone call. The woman on the phone was reassuring, they just needed to get some more cells. They wanted to be 100% sure.
But the fact of having to do a second biopsy — what were they going to find? I thought, ‘There’s something they’re concerned about and I should be too.’
My mother died of breast cancer in 2008 and my aunt too in 1987 — she was only 36. So going through my mind that day was all they had gone through, and when they had first heard the news, and the different operations they’d had to have — it all came flooding back.
I went for the biopsy and was called back. I met my surgeon that day. They had found abnormal cells, which they didn’t think were cancerous but it would be best to remove them.
The surgeon advised me to have the lumpectomy but gave me the choice. I was very pragmatic, very ‘let’s do this, let’s get these cells out’.
I felt good. I’d started the process. It didn’t find me, I found it. Because the reason I was here at all was that I’d decided to take the bull by the horns when I was having hormonal symptoms — a bit of brain fog, some hot flushes.
I’d gone to a GP who specialises in women’s health to see if I needed HRT. That really sort of kick-started a comprehensive health check — blood tests, mammogram, DEXA scan. I just wanted to be proactive because of my family history.
Eavanna Breen: "The surgeon said the decision to operate had been the best one, no two ways about it. It would have turned into cancer otherwise. I felt so relieved, blessed, and lucky that we got it so early." Picture: Moya Nolan.
At this time, I remember looking through my mother’s medical records, seeing all the different stages she had gone through, that was tough… But I was trying to be positive. Telling my daughters — they’re 21 and 14 now — was hard. I wanted to reassure them it wasn’t a fatal thing, I’d have an operation and I’d be fine. I had to be strong for them, which made it easier for me to deal with. It gave me purpose, a focus.
I had the operation in January 2024. It went well, seamless, really, in and out in a day. I met my surgeon a few weeks later. They had biopsied the tissue they had removed surgically. That’s when they found ductal carcinoma in situ — it’s considered pre-cancer.
The surgeon said the decision to operate had been the best one, no two ways about it. It would have turned into cancer otherwise. I felt so relieved, blessed, and lucky that we got it so early. I met the oncologist then to determine whether I’d have radiation. With a certain amount of factors in your medical profile, they recommend you do. If I did, the percentage chance of recurrence would be much lower, so of course I said yes.
I did three weeks of radiation, five days a week. It was a little intimidating at first but fine, really. There was real relief in feeling I was doing the best for my body…
AND then I was done. And now I have a mammogram every year. They’ll keep a close eye on me, which is comforting.
I 100% felt my mother alongside me during this time. Since she died, I have vivid dreams of her, though not regularly, usually when I’m going through some stress. She’s there, she knows. It was the same this time. I had a dream one night — she and I were at an event and she was talking to someone and I was at the other end of the room, trying to get to her but being kept busy talking to others and not able to reach her.
As I woke up, I thought, ‘I need to ring Mum, I haven’t talked to her in ages.’ And then, ‘Oh my God, I can’t, she’s gone.’ That’s how close I felt to her as I was going through this —that I could pick up the phone.
I’m so grateful I found out in time. I’ve been given a chance to really take care of myself and my family and not have to go through cancer.
I’ve a sense of having to earn this luck — you don’t get to be this lucky without giving something back. It was a little tap on the shoulder: ‘You’re not going to be here for ever, make the most of what you have, there’s no point wasting effort on what doesn’t give you joy.’
It’s made me want to be more present with my children, family, and friends.
Eavanna Breen is clinical director of the Eavanna Breen Skin & Laser Clinic. See eavannabreen.ie for more details.
