“If I didn’t attend my regular breast screening appointment, it could have been much worse” – Breast Cancer Awareness Month

63-year-old Celina Ball from Derry/ Londonderry was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 after attending her regular breast screening appointment.

Reflecting on her diagnosis, Celina said:

“I was sent for a routine breast screening appointment so I headed over to the mobile unit in Creggan. After a couple of weeks, I got a letter to come back to the clinic as something had showed up in my mammogram.

“When I went back they did another mammogram and an ultrasound. Not long after that they told me that I had an early form of breast cancer.

“I had no symptoms at all, I was shocked to know that I had cancer because I had no lumps, nothing. I was thinking I would be fine it was just a regular appointment, but it turned out I had cancer.”

After receiving her diagnosis, Celina had to go through a lumpectomy surgery followed by six weeks of radiotherapy in Belfast.

She continued: “It was all done pretty quickly and I healed up well. As they had caught the cancer quite early I was very lucky.

“Treatment was okay. I had plenty of support from my daughter who works in the breast screening clinic and she was able to dress me and do everything that had to be done.”

Individuals aged 50 to 70 who are registered with a GP as female and live in Northern Ireland are invited for a breast screening mammogram every three years. All women will be offered a breast screening appointment for the first time before the age of 53. Women aged over 70 years are not automatically invited for screening, but are encouraged to continue attending every 3 years by phoning their local screening unit and requesting an appointment.

Celina continued: “There’s four in my family that have had cancer over the past few years. My sister and I had breast cancer, my other sister had ovarian cancer and my brother had prostate cancer so I know how important it is that I attend for screening.

“I class myself now as a survivor and that’s the way I like to look at it.”

Ahead of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, the Public Health Agency (PHA) is urging all women to ‘be breast aware’ and consider attending for screening when invited. Celina said her story could have been very different if she did not attend her appointment.

“For anyone that is sent for a mammogram, it’s so important to attend,” she said:

“Everyone I talk to they know someone that has cancer. If I didn’t attend my regular screening appointment, it could have been much worse. Anybody that misses an appointment is crazy because it saves lives. If you’re sent for an appointment, go for it.”

In 2022, 88,483 women were invited for screening with 65,748 attending.

Dr Tracy Owen, Deputy Director of Public Health at PHA said:

“There were almost 1,500 cases of breast cancer diagnosed in Northern Ireland in 2020. While breast cancer can occur at any age, the risk of developing it increases with age and most occur in women over the age of 50.

“I would encourage all those who are invited to consider attending for screening. If breast cancer is found early, there is a better chance that treatment will be successful.

“It is also important for women to be breast aware and look out for changes in the appearance of their breasts such as a change in size or outline of either breast, especially those caused by arm movement; any puckering, dimpling or redness of the skin; or veins that stand out more than usual.

 “Many changes are harmless but all should be checked immediately by a GP. If the change is due to cancer, earlier detection may mean simpler and more successful treatment.

“Regular breast screening reduces the risk of death from breast cancer. On average one life will be saved from breast cancer for every 200 women screened every three years from the age of 50 to 70.”

For more information on breast cancer, visit www.becancerawareni.info/breast-cancer