I'd bought my dream home & was losing weight working out when I got life-changing diagnosis after spotting warning sign
A BRAVE Irish woman has told how her entire life was turned upside down by a shocking health diagnosis just weeks after noticing a concerning change in her body.
Lydia Whelan, 33, said she initially ignored the warning sign but visited her doctor after friends warned: "There's something seriously wrong."
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5
Lydia has undergone six rounds of chemotherapy and fifteen rounds of radiation
Credit: journalist collect
5
Lydia was treated at St James' Hospital in Dublin
And the Irish woman also told how she broke down in tears at home while waiting for her test results as she had a "gut feeling" the outcome was not going to be favourable.
Lydia told The Irish Sun: 'It was the worst two weeks of my life, I was just sobbing."
In Spring 2024, Lydia and her partner had just agreed on the sale of their dream home when she was referred to St James' Hospital in Dublin over a small indentation on her breast.
Advertisement
After waiting a gruelling two weeks which she called 'the worst of her life', Lydia was given the life-changing news that she had breast cancer.
Treatment would involve six rounds of chemotherapy and fifteen rounds of radiation.
But brave Lydia has sworn that she will give all she has to battle the nightmare disease - and aims to spread positivity by documenting the journey on
Lydia explained: 'Last May I was living my normal life, I was working nine to five, Monday to Friday, I was doing fitness, I was after losing a bit of weight, looking good, feeling good.
'I felt amazing but there was one day I was getting dressed and I thought, 'What is that on my breast?'
Advertisement
'I thought maybe I'd banged it and left it a few days but I noticed it wasn't going down. I went in and said it to my sister, and I showed my friends, and they were like, 'Lydia, there's something seriously wrong'.
'It was like three or four fingers of an indentation in the breast.
Breast cancer symptoms you should NEVER ignore, with Dr Philippa Kaye
'It looked like someone had pushed in my skin and it didn't pop back out.
'I went back to the GP the following week and she said I can't say what it is, she said I'm going to refer you to St James'.
GUT INSTINCT
'One of the surgeons said you're going to need a biopsy and an ultrasound.'
Advertisement
Support worker Lydia said her instincts told her that her worst fears were true long before
She explained: 'I had to wait two weeks for the results but I just knew, I had a gut feeling. I was at home with my mam and my partner and I just started crying because I knew.
'That was at the end of June last year when I got the mammogram and the biopsy and the ultrasound, and it's not a nice experience, it's very uncomfortable.
'The doctor said regardless of whether the news is good or bad you'll have to wait two weeks to find out.
MENTAL HEALTH BATTLE
'It was the worst two weeks of my life, I was just sobbing.
Advertisement
'We had just gone sale agreed on a house, I thought I was going to lose my house, my relationship, I was just spiralling.'
In the midst of the terrifying wait, Lydia's close friend was getting married, and she tried as best she could to shield the bride-to-be from her awful diagnosis.
She told us: 'I was still trying to live my life, the week of the biopsy was my best friend's
'She knew something was there but I never told her. I had to then because you could see it when I was putting on my bridesmaid dress, they were all looking at me in awe and I was telling everyone it's okay when I just knew it was not.
NEXT STEP
'It's only when you look at things, I had cancer and did not know.
Advertisement
'I was diagnosed on July 30. I was on the edge of my seat, the surgeon said, 'We're really sorry', and I don't even think I could let him finish, I just instantly started sobbing.
'Straight away I was like, 'What's next', very quickly I was straight in.
'I started my treatment on August 27. I was hit with six rounds of chemotherapy.
'I had my surgery in February. I had a full mastectomy on my breast with immediate reconstruction.
POSITIVE OUTLOOK
'And I just finished radiation the other day. I had 15 rounds of radiation.
Advertisement
'I'm absolutely exhausted, I thought I was going to have to be carried to the end of my chemo, I got very sick instantly.
'I'm now 33 and I'm like, why do I feel like a 100-year-old woman?'
'I had to wait two weeks for the results but I just knew, I had a gut feeling. I was at home with my mam and my partner and I just started crying because I knew."
Lydia Whelan
Lydia shared how she has managed to stay positive despite the hardship.
She said: 'Mentally it's been a lot but I've tried to maintain a really good, positive outlook.
NEW PERSPECTIVE
'I just feel like life is so precious and I hope I will stay here for a long time, for all the little things you take for granted.
Advertisement
'It definitely gives you a different outlook on life.
'I wasn't able to drink coffee when I was doing chemo, and one of the days I was feeling good I got a coffee and I was just standing there and holding it and smiling, you get a new perspective and look at things differently.
'I used to stress over things in life that I look back at now and I just think it's not that stressful.
'And that whole thing of you don't know who you're walking by on the street, you don't know what they're experiencing.
HARD FIGHT
'I've had people say to me, 'You've got the good cancer'. I'm 33 years of age, nothing prepares you to look into the mirror and not recognise yourself.
Advertisement
'There's no such thing as a good cancer.
'Its been the hardest fight of my life - you're fighting for your life.'
But Lydia revealed that the biggest impact has been on her tight-knit family, who were devastated to hear about her health issue.
She said: "It's heartbreaking, I wouldn't visit my 90-year-old granny because I didn't want her to see me like that.
WORLD STILL SPINNING
'I have three sisters and a younger brother.
Advertisement
'We're a very close family - it broke them. One of the first things I said when I got diagnosed was, 'How do I tell my mother?'
'And from my mam and my sisters they were like, 'I wish I could take this from you', and I'm like, 'No, even on my darkest days I still wouldn't wish it on you.'
'It's been a whirlwind, is the only way I can describe it.
'I'm very mindful that my world is stuck, but all my friends' worlds are still spinning and I want to be a part of that.'
SIGNS OF BREAST CANCER
THE most important sign of breast cancer is a breast lump, according to the HSE.
However, most breast lumps - nine in 10 - are not cancerous. But it's always best to have them checked by a GP.
The HSE advises the public contact their GP if you notice:
A new lump or area of thickened tissue in either breast
A change in the size or shape of one or both breasts
Bloodstained discharge from either of your nipples
A lump or swelling in either of your armpits
Dimpling on the skin of your breasts
A rash on or around your nipple
A change in how your nipple looks, such as becoming sunken into your breast
They added that breast pain is not usually a symptom of breast cancer.
Despite the trials, Lydia said her journey has taught her a lot and she's determined to take important lessons away from it.
Advertisement
And the 33-year-old wanted to spread positivity online to combat the mirage of negative posts she was seeing on
She continued: 'If there's one thing I could change for people it's their perspective on life.
'Even if something small happens, like something happens to the car, I'm like, take a breath, it'll get sorted.'
'I want a stress free life so now I just breathe in and breathe out before I react.
MAKING MEMORIES
'It's just not something anyone should be going through.
Advertisement
'It's a negative story. I thought I can go and post negatively or I can post positive things.
'About ten years ago I would have laid down and let it take me, now I'm a different person.
'There's a TikTok of me just dancing and laughing and being with my friends, making the best memories. In that moment you feel so good, it's so good for your soul.
'I'm very mindful that my world is stuck, but all my friends' worlds are still spinning and I want to be a part of that.'
Lydia Whelan
'I just feel I've so much left in me. And for me it's so nice to look back at TikToks I made when I am having a bad day and I just think, 'Look at all the stuff you have to look forward to if you fight this.'
'I've so much to look forward to.
Advertisement
'There's so much negativity and it's easy to get sucked into it.
'If I could talk to anyone about it I would say it's about trying to maintain that positivity, everyone's bad day is their worst day.
'All my friends have kids who call me Liddy, and I never wanted them to see any negativity, and they saw me quickly sick, and they were like, 'Mammy, she's still the same Liddy.'"
5
Lydia and her partner had just agreed a sale on their dream home
5
Lydia was diagnosed with breast cancer last year when she was 32
Advertisement
5
The support worker has documented her journey on social media
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