Donegal beauty therapist Orla Maguire is battling breast cancer while sending out a clear message to women everywhere to be aware of their bodies.
Orla, aged 30, from Dungloe discovered an abnormality in her right breast after watching a special episode of The Only Way is Essex for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October 2016.
“The characters were talking about checking your breasts and messing around with each other. I was getting ready for bed and has a quick feel around the area and felt something.
“I thought maybe I was imagining it but the next morning it was still here. I decided to go straight to the doctor to get it seen to,” Orla said.
Orla had to wait 5 weeks for an appointment with Letterkenny General Hospital after being referred by her GP. It was only after her 30th birthday in November that she had an exam with the Breast Clinic.
A week later, Orla received the devastating news that she had breast cancer. She was told that the Oncology Unit at Letterkenny Hospital was not accepting new cancer patients and she would have to travel to Galway Hospital for chemotherapy.
“Unfortunately Letterkenny couldn’t take anyone else at the time and Galway was mentioned. It’s a long journey but I wouldn’t have been the first person from here to take the trip.
“Luckily the consultant breast surgeon managed to get a doctor in Sligo to take me. It was a lot easier than having to make a four hour journey every Wednesday and possibly travelling down the night before,” Orla said.
Orla began chemotherapy in Sligo Hospital four days before Christmas. She is keeping up a positive attitude and has set up a Facebook page called My Right Tata to document her journey and remind women to ‘Check your tatas’.
“You need to be aware of breast cancer, no matter what age you are,” Orla told Donegal Woman. “If I get five, ten or fifteen more people to be aware of their bodies then my job is done.”
“I hope the page will be for other people who are going through cancer too. Maybe people who have just been diagnosed and who are wondering what’s going to happen next. Breast cancer is not the end of the world. The treatment that’s out there is amazing and I thank God it’s only in my breast. There’s no reason why I can’t fight that.
“A lot of people don’t like sharing things but breast cancer is on a lot of people’s doorsteps and I just want to put it out there,” Orla said.
Click here to read Orla’s full story on DonegalWoman.ie
Visit www.facebook.com/myrighttata to follow Orla’s journey.
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