‘Lucky to be alive’: Woman’s breast cancer discovered following vaccine reaction

A MOUNTFIELD woman whose aggressive breast cancer was only discovered by doctors when her body reacted to receiving the Covid-19 vaccine has celebrated the New Year after being given the ‘all-clear’ – and says she is ‘truly lucky to be alive’.

Kerri Meenagh was diagnosed with stage three and grade three invasive breast cancer in July last year – just weeks after turning 28.

The Clogher Valley Sure Start worker first noticed a ‘hardness’ that spanned the whole way around her breast in March 2021, causing her to raise the alarm with doctors.

After consulting medical professionals, it transpired that the hardness was simply the result of ‘cystic tissue’, which had been caused by the Pfizer vaccine irritating the lymph nodes in her arm.

However, upon further examination by the Breast Screening Clinic at Alnagelvin Area Hospital, Derry, a biopsy found that an aggressive cancer had been growing silently underneath the cystic tissue – and Kerri explained that it would have remained ‘undetectable’ to her ‘for months’ had the vaccine ‘not caused the hardness’.

Speaking to the UH, the Ulster University and Stranmillis graduate recounted in detail the remarkable chain of events which ended in a miracle, rather than tears.

“I first noticed something was different in my breast one Wednesday night,” Kerri, who is now living in Kildress, described. “When I was lying in bed, one of my breasts felt very hard the whole way around, and when I turned around on my side, it was very uncomfortable.

“But because it wasn’t a lump, or a more ‘common’ breast cancer symptom, I didn’t worry. I did, however, phone the doctor the next day to get it checked out.”

Kerri, who is a past-pupil of Loreto Grammar School, Omagh, explained that when she got her second set of biopsies done, her doctor asked if she had ‘received the vaccine recently?’.

“I told him that I had,” she recalled. “And he replied saying that he thought that it was the vaccine that helped me catch the cancer in the way that I did.

“Apparently, when you receive a vaccine, for a couple of weeks afterwards, it can annoy your lymph nodes on that side and create cystic tissue.

“So, the hardness that I had felt in my breast was actually cystic tissue – but it was only when the biopsies were completed, that doctors realised that there was cancer growing underneath the cystic tissue.

“They believe that I would never have found it, had I not went to the doctors with the cystic tissue. And the outcome could have been extremely different.”

‘Stage three cancer’

When Kerri received her initial diagnosis of breast cancer on July 7, 2021, her thoughts immediately turned towards her treatment plan – and how she was going to tell her family.

“Unfortunately, the doctor told me that they didn’t know enough about the cancer at that moment to answer that,” she said. “And I would have to wait 10 days till my next appointment to find that all out.”

When Kerri arrived at her next appointment, she was given the harrowing news that she had stage three cancer.

“I was told it was extremely aggressive, and it had spread to my lymph nodes,” she said. “Therefore, I was going to have to undergo six sessions of chemotherapy; go for an operation; and then have numerous rounds of radiotherapy as well.”

‘Extremely difficult’

Initially, her operation was going to be a ‘lumpectomy’ – a removal of the tumour and some tissue surrounding it.

However, more tests showed that the cancer was larger than they first thought, so Kerri’s only option was going for a mastectomy.

“I feel like it was at this appointment that the reality of my situation, and what lay ahead of me, hit me for the first time,” she described.

Kerri recalled finding the chemotherapy ‘extremely difficult’.

“I think for any young woman, the thought of losing their hair is unbearable,” she said. “And it was between my first and second chemotherapy that I noticed my hair starting to come out.

“I was slightly in denial about it for a day or two, until I decided to take control of the situation, and I asked my sister-in-law to shave it.

“It was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced.”

Kerri underwent a mastectomy on December 14, and stayed in hospital for four nights. Due to Covid restrictions, there were no visitors allowed.

‘Delight’

Then on December 23, the celebrations began: Her chemotherapy had proven successful, and she was given the all-clear.

“I was extremely happy,” Kerri said. “I actually think it took me a good day or two to actually digest the news!

“It was amazing to realise that every hard day that I had endured over the last nearly six months was worth it.

“My friends and family were absolutely over the moon when I told them,” she added. “And the amount of kind messages I got from people on social media really shows you that people are genuinely rooting for you.”

Celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Day with her family and friends, including her mum, Claire; brother, Kevin; nephew, Charlie; and niece, Ava, Kerri is now looking ahead to her bright future – but there may be a few storms to be weathered along the way.

“I have to undergo radio therapy in February, and after that, I have decided to opt for a second mastectomy on the other breast,” she explained. “I also have to receive ‘Herceptin’ injections into my thigh every three weeks for a year.

“So, although I have overcome so much in such a short time, I still have quite a journey ahead of me. But I am absolutely up for the task.”

‘Don’t ever delay’

What is the life lesson that you have taken from your personal experience, Kerri?

“If you notice anything different in your body, go and get it checked – whether it is something big, or small,” she said. “During one of my appointments, my doctor me that my cancer was ‘the most aggressive kind of breast cancer’. And if I hadn’t consulted the doctors when I did, my reality would not have been worth thinking about.

“I would also tell any young woman facing a breast cancer journey that the road ahead does look scary, and you will feel like you don’t know how you will get through it. But you will – and always remember that.”

l Visit Kerri Meenagh’s Facebook or Instagram page to watch an inspirational video that she created, which documents her behind-the-scenes breast cancer journey in an honest and open fashion. The video also encourages people to book their smear tests; get lumps checked out; and reminds men and women to always ‘know their normal’.