Courtney Cass, Ambassador for Kilkenny's Great Pink Run

Courtney Cass was born and raised in the heart of Kilkenny city. She is married to Shane who she met in Langton’s before doing her leaving cert. They welcomed their beautiful daughter Pippa into the world four years later.

Courtney with her daughter Pippa

Courtney also landed her dream job in the Pembroke Hotel, when she worked her way up from being receptionists to duty manager, Guest Relations Manager, and now she Rooms Division Manager.

However, during the lockdown, the 33-year-old world was about to be turned upside down when she discovered she had breast cancer.

“I was getting ready for bed and while putting on my pyjamas, I found something when I was taking off my bra," she said. "I just ran my hand over something, and I was like, oh, that wasn't there last week.'

It was so small that I wasn't even sure if I should get it checked. Thankfully I rang the doctor the next day and when she examined me, she said there's something there and referred me down to Waterford.”

Courtney had her first appointment in Waterford two weeks later. The doctor said that it was probably just a cyst and didn't think there's much to worry about but that they referred her for a mammogram and a biopsy.

Two weeks later, the mammogram was fine. Then she was sent in for the biopsy, and they also took a biopsy from her armpit, which left her wondering why are they going there?

“Everyone was super nice to me, and I just got this feeling there was something wrong. I had not told anyone that I was doing all this, not even my husband Shane because I didn’t want anyone to worry if there was no reason to.”

It was during Covid, so Courtney had to go to her appointment by herself and she was not expecting it to be cancer.

“When I went in the day for the results, and the doctor said, ‘have you nobody with you?’ I knew straight away that there was something wrong and when I heard those words I literally froze and started crying.”

“He explained how it's so common for girls my age. How cancer is changing so much over the last few years and it's getting women younger and younger, and they don't know why.”

Courtney recalls the awful moment when she heard the doctor saying the word cancer, “I was like ‘I'm dead’. I literally just thought I was going to die and that was it. I thought that I wouldn't see my daughter Pippa grow up, how would Shane manage without me with Pippa and all that kind of stuff.”

Understandably, Courtney blanked everything else out that she was been told by the doctor, “but the nurse there was amazing. She wrote everything down that I needed to know.”

However, there was hope as the surgeon explained that they had caught it early. At that time, it was stage two, grade three. Stage two meant that it had spread, and it was in my lymph nodes and her armpit.

“I felt an uncomfortable sensation, the previous week and I kept kind of trying to fix myself and fix my bra. But no, it was my lymph nodes swelling.”

Courtney’s surgeon Dr Murphy told her good news that it was treatable and curable. And as soon as Courtney heard that, she knew she was going to be okay, “I am going to live. My whole outlook and attitude just changed. Once I knew it was treatable and curable, I was going to do anything I had to do to live and survive it. My surgery was scheduled two weeks
after that.”

Two weeks later she had her surgery - a lumpectomy. “They just removed the cancer and a bit of tissue around it. They removed 21 of my lymph nodes under my armpit so it was called an axillary clear out. I even went home the day after my surgery.”

“It wasn't in me anymore, so it couldn't go anywhere else. That helped me to deal with the process.”

It took six weeks of recovery from the surgery, and then she started chemo on February 4, on World Cancer Day.

Due to her age, the medical team wanted to give her the best chance possible of the cancer not coming back. So, Courtney had the lumpectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and now she is on an injection monthly and the tablets for the next seven years.

  Courtney with her daughter Pippa & mum Jacinta. PHOTO by Vicky Comerford

Early detection

“We have all heard of Sarah Harding in Girls Aloud death really hit home to me, because she was in her thirties too. She let hers go too long because she was worried of covid, but hers was at stage four, and she ended up passing away.”

Courtney’s was at grade three, so it was quite aggressive. When she was first diagnosed, the cancer was at two centimetres, but by the time she had her surgery, it had grown to three centimetres.

“So, it was growing quite quickly. I urge people if anything at all doesn't feel right in your armpits, your collarbones, your neck, your chest, anywhere in that kind of general area. Just get it checked out. 

“The whole point of sharing my story is to tell people my age that they are not exempt from it. Cancer will not discriminate against you by your age.  Check yourselves, make it like a monthly thing in the shower. Anything at all, that doesn't feel right, don't leave it, go get it checked out.”

Today Courtney is living life to the full and made 2022 her year for living. Besides bringing her daughter to Disney Land, she also did three concerts in two countries over nine days! She also has a trip planned for November to London, where the family will take in the Harry Potter Studio’s and Frozen the musical.

Courtney, with family and friends enjoyed a siper day for Kilkenny's Great Pink Run on Sunday. “There was a pink tutu or two! Followed by Pumpkin picking with my family. October is my favourite time of year, as I will also celebrate another
birthday.”

Courtney is testament to the message she wants to get out there, “we can do it, the treatment is so advanced than what it used to be. There are a lot more success stories with people surviving. It will be hard, but people can do and they will get through it.”

Every 29 seconds someone is diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Over 3,500 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed annually in Ireland. One of areas Breast Cancer Ireland is funding is education programmes which will help with early detection, which is key.