Dara Madden

Triple positive

My name is Dara Madden. I am 38 years old, married to Rom for almost 10 years with two gorgeous boys, Noah (7) and Louis (4). At the age of 36 I found a lump. Noah was 5 at the time and Louis was 2.

Years earlier, when Noah was 10 weeks old, I found a small tic tac sized lump on my breast but all was ok when I had it checked out. I was told it was just benign tissue and could grow or stay that size but was nothing to worry about. The lump I found when I was 36, which was 5 years later, was in the exact same place, so I just presumed it was the original lump but also knew in my heart it wasn’t. Thank god I went and got it checked because it wasn’t the original lump, it was breast cancer and triple positive.

Straight away I had a double mastectomy with DIEP flap and reconstruction. The cancer was also in 5 of 17 lymph nodes so I had those removed as well. The recovery was tough but through it all I just wanted everyday to remain the same for my boys as Noah had just started junior infants.

I then had the chemotherapy TCHP for 6 months, followed by radiation for 20 sessions. Finally, I had another 12 rounds of TDM1 chemotherapy.

I’m very lucky my lump was visible because I wasn’t one for really checking my breasts. I am now doing brilliantly. My ovaries are shut down and I’m on tamoxifen and getting regular check ups, but I now look at life differently and really want to help so many young women. I’m now even getting involved in setting up a cancer support group in Meath as there is currently none along with other cancer survivors.