Dublin hairdresser Serca Darcy discovered six breast cancer tumours after paying for a private scan when faced with a six-month public hospital wait.
The 34-year-old mother of two young boys was diagnosed with ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer on December 23, 2025, just two days before Christmas.
Darcy, from Dublin, had visited her doctor in October 2025 after experiencing an unusual burning sensation. Although her GP referred her immediately to St James's Hospital, medical staff informed her that her age meant a mammogram was not urgent.
"When I went to the GP, the GP, of course, referred me straight away to St James's Hospital. The doctor did an examination and said, 'I can feel the lump. I can also feel other lumps, but you're under 35, so we wouldn't be rushing to give you a mammogram,'" Darcy recalled.
Unwilling to wait until May 2026 for a public appointment, she chose to pay €180 for a private scan at St James Private Hospital, securing an appointment within two weeks.
"I decided I wanted to have it out of the way," she said. "I think the scan cost €180 and I went to St James Private Hospital and had the mammogram in two weeks."
Following the scan, she was recalled for a biopsy and received her diagnosis shortly before the holidays.
"Receiving that diagnosis just before Christmas was something I never imagined would happen to me," Darcy said. "I was a busy mum of two young boys and ran my own hair salon, so cancer was the last thing on my mind. The diagnosis turned my world upside down and brought with it fears and uncertainties about my health, my family and the future."
Surgery and extensive medical findings
The diagnosis forced Darcy to step away from her small hairdressing salon on Camden Street in central Dublin and close the business, as it could not operate without her.
She worked through January 2026 before undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) to freeze embryos. Because ER-positive breast cancer is fed by oestrogen, her treatment required hormone blockers that induce a medicated menopause.
Estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer is the most common form of the disease, requiring therapies that suppress female hormones to prevent cancer cells from multiplying. Fertility preservation through embryo freezing is often undertaken prior to initiating such hormone-suppressing treatments.
In February 2026, Darcy underwent a mastectomy with immediate reconstruction using a tissue expander. Although pre-operative assessments indicated a single tumour, subsequent pathology tests revealed six tumours, widespread abnormal cells, and cancer in one lymph node.
"Going into surgery, I believed I had a single tumour, but the final pathology results revealed six tumours in total as well as widespread abnormal cells throughout the breast," Darcy said. "Cancer was also found in one of my lymph nodes. Receiving those results was incredibly difficult and made the diagnosis feel much more serious than I had first thought."
Chemotherapy and recovery process
Darcy began chemotherapy in April 2026, navigating the treatment with help from her husband Sean, who works in event management, as well as her parents, in-laws, and local friends.
"Chemo was hard, it knocked me, especially the first kind of chemo I had," she said. "Your whole body is completely exhausted. That was the hardest part. But then mentally, the hardest part is the worry for my scans."
Losing her hair proved particularly challenging given her career as a hairdresser, though her hair has now begun to grow back. She has chosen not to inform her two young sons, Lux, aged five, and Zay, aged three, maintaining normal daily routines at home.
"I don't recognise myself at all in the mirror," she added. "My body has completely changed. I've had a mastectomy, I look completely different to what I looked like this time last year. But my hair is starting to grow back now."
She is currently completing radiotherapy and expects to conclude her active treatment within two weeks, with follow-up scans scheduled in the coming weeks.
Campaigning for early detection
Darcy began documenting her medical journey on Instagram to keep family updated, which quickly attracted a broader audience of young women facing similar diagnoses.
"Because I was young, if I hadn't gone private and had waited seven months for my mammogram I wouldn't be in the same position because during the mastectomy, they found those six tumours which hadn't shown up in the mammogram," she explained. "So if I had waited until say May or June of this year, it would have spread, and I just want to try and raise awareness that young women can get breast cancer too."
She has become an ambassador for the 2026 Breast Cancer Ireland campaign in collaboration with 4TH ARQ, an apparel brand founded by entrepreneur Rosie Connolly Quinn. Alongside fellow ambassadors Vivienne Onyeme, Rachel Byrne, and Dara Madden, Darcy is promoting limited-edition fleece half-zips.
Breast Cancer Ireland is a national charity funding clinical research and education, while St James's Hospital and Beaumont Hospital serve as major specialist cancer treatment centers in Dublin.
All profits from the sale of the €40 fleeces, available in Fuchsia and Bubblegum Pink at 4THARQ.com, will fund a new ultrasound room at the Beaumont Breast Centre in Dublin to reduce patient waiting times. Previous collaborations raised €73,000 in 2021 and €104,000 in 2024.
"I just want other women to remember to check their breasts and if they find a lump, to act on it," Darcy said. "No matter what age you are, if you feel uneasy about something, go and get it checked out."
