This is Christine's story as she wrote it. Sadly, while mortality rates have declined significantly, it is still a very dangerous disease and Christine died on 20 August 2010.   Read the obituary.

BreastCheck discovered my breast cancer just two days before my 52nd birthday and to this day I shudder at the thought that had I lived in a different part of Ireland, it may not have been detected until it was too late.

I was recovering from extensive treatment for breast cancer in 2005 when Frances Fitzgerald – a friend from our student days – asked me to help Europa Donna Ireland to organise their first National Conference which was held in Dublin in May 2006. I was happy to do that then and ended up becoming a member of the Committee and it snow-balled from there.

I quickly discovered that again I was lucky I happened to live close to St. Vincent’s - one of Ireland’s top specialist breast cancer centres - and the difference this made to my chances of survival. That’s why I’m happy to volunteer some of my time to Europa Donna Ireland.

My first contact with the warmth and passion of EUROPA DONNA advocates came at a major breast cancer conference in NICE in March 2006 where, much to my surprise, I was elected to the Board of EUROPA DONNA.

I’m learning so much and enjoying the opportunity to use my skills and experience in a complex cause with committed and compassionate women.