'I thought I had a blocked duct - diagnosis left me completely terrified'

A mum-to-be thought a lump in her breast was a blocked milk duct, only to discover it was stage four terminal breast cancer. Muireann McColgan, 39, discovered the lump in her left breast when she was 31 weeks pregnant in August 2023.

She consulted her GP, who suggested it was likely mastitis - a blocked milk duct. However, four weeks later, during a prenatal appointment, a midwife noticed the lump and referred her to St Vincent's Hospital for further investigation.

Muireann was scheduled for a mammogram but went into labour the day before and gave birth to her daughter, Aobh, now two, on October 7, 2023. She was rescheduled for two weeks later, when the scan revealed a tumour in her left breast, leading to a breast cancer diagnosis. She was informed that a biopsy would be necessary to determine the stage of the cancer.

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

"I was devastated. I got two weeks of being a mother without cancer."

Immediately after her diagnosis, Muireann began researching cancer and educating herself about the treatment. Her biopsy results in October 2023 showed her cancer was at stage two, which brought her some relief.

She explained: "I'd spent every waking moment since my diagnosis reading about cancer, so I knew everything about stages. So when they told me stage two I was relieved, because I knew that stage 2 was curable.

"After that they gave me the talk of 'we're going to cure you, it has a 95% survival rate'. I thought 'OK, I'll get through this. I'll have to have chemo, I'll lose my hair, but I'll get over this'. I was all hyped up to fight."

But Muireann had also been suffering from back pain, so she was sent for a CT scan in October 2023. The scan showed that, whilst the back pain was caused by a fractured rib, the cancer had spread throughout her bones. Her diagnosis was upgraded to stage 4 cancer, which is terminal.

Muireann said: "It was on a phone call that they told me. I didn't really know what to do - my legs turned to jelly, I was hyperventilating a little bit.

"I shouted for my husband, Tomasz, who was upstairs, and he signed out of work. Everything was destroyed. I had a tiny baby and they'd just told me I had a terminal illness. It was beyond surreal. I don't know how I got through it, to be honest."

Shortly after receiving the diagnosis, Muireann began planning for her family's future. "There's a huge housing crisis here in Ireland," she said.

"A few days after the stage 4 diagnosis, I realised, no one's going to give us a mortgage. That was really terrifying, to understand the actual implications of that diagnosis. You can never get a loan or insurance.

"I'm young. A lot of people get this diagnosis when they're in their 60s or 70s - it's obviously still devastating, but you have things settled a bit more than you do when you're 38.

"I didn't have those things to fall back on - there was no insurance, no house, no mortgage. I was thinking 'how am I going to protect my family when I could be gone in a couple of years? How is my husband going to cope alone with our daughter?'. You don't sleep as a new mum anyway, but it was 10 times worse."

Muireann was given ribociclib - a breakthrough drug which halts the progression of the cancer. Her condition has now stabilised, though she's aware the cancer will eventually develop resistance to the medication and she'll need to transition to alternative treatments.

Meanwhile, Muireann is attempting to maintain normality in her life. In August 2024, she pedalled 230km from Dublin to Galway to fundraise for Breast Cancer Ireland.

She said: "I've always loved cycling. I used to do a lot of bike touring. But it wasn't until I got my diagnosis that I thought 'I want to do something to raise money for research'.

"It gave me something to work towards, it got me out on the bike and doing stuff and something to focus my brain on that isn't cancer. Cycling has always been like that for me - I find it very relaxing and quite therapeutic."

Subsequently, in August 2025, Muireann spotted a post on Instagram regarding Chris Hoy's Tour de 4 - a cycling challenge in Glasgow designed to highlight stage 4 cancer awareness.

She said: "The minute I saw it I signed up, to say 'this is what stage 4 can be, and this is thanks to research'. That's why research and raising money is so important to us, because the more research there is, the more time we get with our families."

In addition to fundraising through cycling, Muireann is an ardent online advocate. She shares her journey on Instagram, @maureen.mccloggin, and has initiated the campaign 'Too Young To Be Heard' - which aims to increase awareness about breast cancer in younger women.

Her fundraising page for the Tour de 4 is available on GoFundMe.