Everything was destroyed... I had a tiny baby and they told me I had a terminal illness

Muireann's horror at stage 4 cancer diagnosis after becoming a mum

- BY EMILY KELLY

AN Irish mum-to-be thought a lump in her breast was a blocked milk duct – before discovering it was stage four terminal breast cancer.

Muireann McColgan, 39, found a lump in her left breast when she was 31 weeks pregnant in August 2023.

She went to her GP, who told her it was likely mastitis, a blocked milk duct.

Four weeks later at a prenatal appointment, a midwife noticed the lump and referred Muireann to St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, for further investigation.

She was booked in for a mammogram but went into labour the day before and gave birth to her daughter, Aobh, now two, on October, 7 2023.

DIAGNOSED

She was rebooked for two weeks later, when the scan revealed one tumour in her left breast and she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She was told she would have to undergo a biopsy to find out what stage it was.

Mum-of-one Muireann, a chef who lives with her husband Tomasz in Dublin, said: "I was in shock. I didn't know what to make of it. I was completely terrified.