Mother who complained of an “itch” in her collarbone is diagnosed with breast cancer and told she has months to live – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

Mother who complained of an “itch” in her collarbone is diagnosed with breast cancer and told she has months to live




A young woman has been given “months to live” and must plan her own funeral after a simple “itch” is diagnosed with breast cancer.

The 37-year-old mother of two went to her doctor last April for what she thought was an “itchy” muscle lump just below her collarbone.

The doctors agreed to perform a biopsy and a mammogram, after which Tiffany Ryan was told she had stage 2 breast cancer and would need to have a mastectomy, reports The Irish Mirror.

Tiffany said she expected to be told on Jan. 5, 2023 that she had been cured of the disease as she went to the doctors following surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

Instead, she was told that the cancer had spread to her lungs and pelvis and she could no longer be treated, leaving her to perform her last rites on her own., reports The Irish Mirror.

Tiffany says she doesn’t want to leave her husband Matt, 39, who has to work out the details of her funeral when she dies.

Tiffany, who serves as a lifelong carer for her eight-year-old autistic son, said: “I’ve decided on a female funeral director, who I feel really comfortable with. I want my funeral to be a positive event. I’m not particularly religious, but my children love to go to our local church – so I don’t want the event to be there. Instead I’m going to have a ‘green funeral’ in an outdoors woodland area. My children shouldn’t have to see me be cremated at the church they love. I want them to feel comfortable there and safe when I’m gone – not to have it constantly remind them of my death,” reports The Irish Mirror.

Doctors say Tiffany may have just months to live, leaving her young children – aged just three and eight – to create “memory pods” with video messages and letters. She was also told by doctors in January that she may not live to see her daughter’s fourth birthday, which is next week, meaning she had beat the odds, reports The Irish Mirror.

In spite of her condition, Tiffany says that she feels “totally normal” and is not in pain at all. 

She said: “I think the strangest part is that I do not feel sick, but I know that I only have so much time. I’m not in pain, I’m still doing the normal school run and going to hospital while my children are in school. Doctors have told me that it’s inoperable now. The one thing they could do was give me a tablet to slow it down – but that’s it,” reports The Irish Mirror.

Supported by charities Depha UK and Disability Expo, the family intends to go away to stay in a log cabin at the end of March, followed by a ‘glamping’ holiday later this year. 

Tiffany added: “It’s hard to arrange spending time away together, booking holidays abroad is especially complicated because I would need to be near hospitals. If something happened I could become stuck abroad – so we’re only booking holidays in the UK for the moment,” reports The Irish Mirror.

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