Laura O'Brien was in her early thirties and expecting her fourth child when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“From a practical point of view, I knew the signs and symptoms. I noticed some changes but I just wasn't sure whether it was pregnancy related or not. My husband is a GP and I said to him that I wasn't sure about it but that I wasn't overly concerned. He said to me ‘This is your fourth baby. We know that every pregnancy can be different but you know your body so well. If you feel that something's not right, you need to go get it checked out’.
With the added worry of Covid-19 and facing hospital appointments alone because of lockdown, it was a frightening time for the mum of four young boys: Laura says her children being so young at the time meant she was able shield them from the worry going on around them: Laura feels strongly about hearing patients' fears “It’s important to acknowledge what someone is going through. It can be so easy to say ‘You’ll be fine’, but sometimes people have worries, and they're very valid and we should listen. It’s not always a problem that you can fix, but sometimes it's just about listening and hearing what someone has to say.