Deborah Lennon

Now 40, Deborah completed her intensive treatment in August 2025 and is back at work, cherishing time with loved ones, and urging others to act quickly if they notice unusual changes.

I hadn’t really had any sort of health conditions, I was always fit and healthy before my breast cancer diagnosis. So that’s why it sort of came out the blue.

Life was good, everything was normal – then one day I was coming out the shower and felt a lump. I thought, this is not normal- but probably in my ignorance, I told myself it was fine, maybe to do with my menstrual cycle.

At first I was reassured by colleagues saying it might just be a cyst or fatty tissue. But then I thought, no, this is not right. I know my own body, and I just knew it wasn’t normal. I was however still shocked when I got the diagnosis. I wasn’t expecting it.

Following scans and a biopsy, I was officially diagnosed with Triple Negative breast cancer. This type of cancer is less common and aggressive as it tends to grow and spreads faster but thankfully due to early detection I caught it in time and it was contained.

Knowing now it was this type of cancer I feel even more fortunate that it didn’t spread and treatment was a success. At the time of my diagnosis, my tumour was four-and-a-half-centimetres, but thankfully it hadn’t spread to any lymph nodes and was completely contained within itself.

Thank goodness I went and got it checked when I did, as my treatment options could have been much more limited in terms of options. In terms of treatment, I had 16 rounds of chemotherapy, 20 radiotherapy sessions, a lumpectomy, and immunotherapy.

I also got the BRCA genetic testing and the test confirmed it was negative and the risk of inherited mutations and reoccurrence was lower. This was a relief as was worried about my daughter in years to come and it impacted the decision of lumpectomy v Mastectomy.

It was a year and a half of solid treatment, but I feel very lucky to have detected my cancer when I did and to have been able to have th ose treatments and now have come out the other side. My family were amazing throughout my treatment – my young daughter loved trying on all my wigs and my partner, Scott, was so supportive.

Now I’m getting my energy back, I am enjoying spending quality time with my family, we love going shopping together, booking trips and making the most out of the weekends. My wonderful daughter gives me the most joy, there are so many more memories to be made together.

I’m also now back at work four days a week and spending more time with the people who mean the most to me, as well as being more mindful about my own health.

I just want to tell everyone to trust your instincts and get any unusual symptoms checked out. I share messages on social media constantly, encouraging people to check themselves. I’ve had so many people tell me they never got checked out until they saw w hat happened to me.

Your health is your wealth. It’s so important and breast cancer can affect anyone at any age, not just older women.

If by sharing my story I can help one single person, it’s been worth it. Keep checking yourself and get checked out if you’re worried. It really can change the outcome and give you the chance to live well again.

Please don’t ignore your screening invite or delay in contacting your local GP practice with unusual, persistent symptoms.