Sinead Forbes was breastfeeding her youngest child when she realised something wasn’t right.

“I thought I had some sort of infection in my left breast, so went to see my GP who thought it was just a milk duct infection and prescribed a course of antibiotics,” she says.

After two rounds of antibiotics didn’t work Sinead went for a mammogram at a private clinic for everything related to breasts.

Within just a few hours she had a mammogram, a core biopsy… and a cancer diagnosis.

“I went in thinking that I had an infection, and came out knowing I had to have a left breast mastectomy,” she reflects.

At the time Sinead was 37 and had three children all under the age of six. Amelia was in kindy, Max was three, and her youngest, Louis, was only nine months old. “He was born in the February, and I was diagnosed in the November,” recalls Sinead. “It was a really overwhelming time.”

It was her family history that prompted Sinead to seek a mammogram.

“Alarm bells went off straight away because my mum’s sister, my Auntie Helen, died from breast cancer,” says Sinead. “I watched her go through a terrible journey. For 18 months she fought and fought, but eventually she lost her battle.”

Sinead was diagnosed on 20 November, and operated on before Christmas. “As soon as the doctors said I needed a left mastectomy I said, ‘Take them both,’” she recalls.

Just a few weeks after a bilateral mastectomy, Sinead started chemotherapy.

That first round of chemotherapy was the worst part of Sinead’s entire cancer journey. “It knocked me for six and I ended up in hospital with pneumonia,” she remembers, “but with my cancer at stage 3, no matter how bad I felt, I was adamant not to miss a session.”

After six months of chemo followed by five weeks of daily radiotherapy, Sinead commenced a 12-month course of Herceptin, an intravenous drug that’s used to treat certain types of breast cancer by targeting cancer cells that have too much of a protein called HER2.

“I’m just really lucky that due to advances in breast cancer research, this particular drug was available to me,” says Sinead, whose aunt did not have the same luck. “But unfortunately it’s not one-size-fits-all; there’s no miracle drug that works for everybody. That’s why continued research is so important.”

A couple of months after completing her treatment, Sinead underwent a breast reconstruction. “Things have changed and these days if you have a bilateral mastectomy they do the reconstruction pretty much straight away, which is quite extraordinary,” she says. “For me, the whole experience was a very drawn out, two-year process.”

Sinead remained positive throughout it all, but there were definitely some dark times.

“Emotionally and mentally I struggled a bit,” she recalls. “The fear of the drugs not working and my cancer returning was with me for quite some time. I had my moments, especially because of what happened to my aunt, but she had a different type of breast cancer to mine and with advancements in treatment, I was on a very different path.”

Sinead was also fortunate to have her husband Chris by her side every step of the way.

“He’s amazing,” she says. “We’ve gone through every minute together and we basically counselled each other through the whole journey. But the journey wasn’t just about us, it was about our kids, and because I was so ill we had to have our game faces on <a lot> for them.”

Sinead eventually got the fantastic news that she was cancer-free. But then, in 2018, her mum was also diagnosed with breast cancer.

Happily though, the outlook is good.

“Mum was getting her annual checks done religiously, so they caught it early and it was luckily only stage 1,” says a relieved Sinead.

Interestingly, it was yet another type of breast cancer.

“My auntie’s was hormonally driven, mine was HER2-positive, and Mum was diagnosed with Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC),” explains Sinead. “It’s such a complicated disease and there are so many different types – and different treatments. I think because it’s been a long time since my aunt lost her battle, and because of what I’d been through and all the advancements, Mum was very positive about her journey.”

Sinead says getting tested regularly is vital for every woman. But so is listening to your body, trusting your instincts and always putting your health first.

“I wish I’d gone for a mammogram as soon as I sensed something was wrong,” she admits. “That’s the one thing I’d have done differently. Two months is a long time if cancer’s spreading like a bushfire, and I probably could have caught it at stage 1 or 2 instead of stage 3. But back then, with three young children, I wasn’t putting myself first, and you absolutely need to. You’ve got to value your body. If there’s an issue with your breast, go and get a mammogram. Don’t hesitate. At the time it felt like the worst day of my life, but it actually was the best day because, as a result, 15 years later I’m still here.”

Still here, and living her absolute best life.

“I’m great,” she says. “I’ve changed my lifestyle completely, moving from a corporate role to part-time marketing for a primary school. I’ve also been a community ambassador with the National Breast Cancer Foundation for the past 14 years. Having cancer was awful, but I wanted something positive to come from it, so I use my voice to give people hope.”

She’s also a regular at the gym, doing reformer pilates or yoga and walking every day: “It’s not just about working out, it’s about working out your head space. It may be a cliché, but thanks to my cancer experience I’ve realised that health comes before everything else.”

She and Chris just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, their children are all grown up, they now have a beautiful cavoodle and travel every year.

“We never take life for granted,” says Sinead. “For those two years I was in treatment it was all about living in the moment: we could never think too far ahead or make plans. It felt like we were holding our breath the whole time. I love the fact that we can breathe again.”

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.