Lydia Whelan, a 32-year-old support worker from County Kildare, Ireland, has shared her breast cancer journey, including the moment she told her long-term partner Colm to leave her after her diagnosis.
Whelan and Colm had just received the green light on a house sale agreement when their lives changed two years ago. One week before the sale was agreed, she visited her doctor after noticing a change in her breast. On July 30, 2024, at St James's Hospital in Dublin, doctors confirmed she had cancer, later identified as aggressive and stage two.
Fear of Losing the House
In an interview with Dublin Dialogues, Whelan recalled: “I just erupted and my partner erupted and I was like, ‘I knew it.’” She added: “Then very quickly I was like, ‘How am I going to tell my mother?’”
Due to her diagnosis, Whelan could not get approval for mortgage protection, raising fears she could lose the house. She said: “I have said it before to a lot of people, I was more upset about the potential of losing my house than I was of being told I had cancer because I was looking at the future, myself and my partner for 10 years together at that point, this was the next stage for us.”
She added: “I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to cope.’ If we lose our house, I was telling him to leave me. I was like, ‘I’m holding you back.’ It’s conversations that you don’t expect to have at the age of 32.”
Treatment and Support
Whelan also spoke about telling her parents: “I remember going home to my mum and dad and I was still living at home at this point and I just burst out crying. I was like, ‘I don’t want to lose my hair.’”
Her partner, family and friends offered love and support, which she said was essential to getting through treatment. She started chemotherapy at the end of August 2024 and described it as “the roughest rollercoaster I could have ever imagined.” She said: “It absolutely wipes you, takes away what you see in the mirror. I really struggled with that aspect. Still to this day I do.”
Whelan also underwent radiation and surgery. She was extremely ill during chemotherapy and at one point felt unable to complete the final two rounds to reach six total. However, she is now a cancer survivor after completing treatment.
House Sale and Moving Forward
Her house sale went through after Colm drew down the mortgage alone. This December will mark two years since she and Colm moved in together. Whelan must wait another four years before she can be named on the mortgage, when she will officially be in remission.
She now shares her story to raise awareness about breast cancer. In a message to others, she said: “I continue to drive home about checking yourself every month. People have come up to me and said, ‘I’m afraid to check myself because of what I’d find.’ And it’s wild how that’s someone’s thoughts on it. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, but if I didn’t find it when I found it, I would not be here today. There’s no might. I wouldn’t.’”
Whelan, now 34, said she lives her best life and says “yes to everything.” She added: “It’s given me a new lease of life. As hard as the journey has been, I now don’t stress about the small things. I take a beat. I would have been a very quite anxious and nervous person.” She concluded: “I’m still here, I’m still alive, I’m still breathing. I’m just grateful for every day.”
