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Shannon Ikahihifo opens up on her breast cancer diagnosis
Shannon Ikahihifo has approached her breast cancer diagnosis in her usual way, with selflessness and sarcasm.
The Trailfinders Women player was diagnosed on 11 August, just eight days after being told she was not in Ireland’s squad for the Rugby World Cup.
In true Ikahihifo fashion, she describes that time as ‘lots of fun’ as she prioritises the light in what can be dark times.
“It was a bad week for me,” the 30-year-old said. “The non-selection was on the Sunday, but the squad had had a few niggles, so those not selected still needed to be in camp the following week to help prep the squad.
“I got the call on Sunday and flew out to camp from Monday to Wednesday, and it was Wednesday when I got a message that I had an appointment with the consultant on the following Monday.
“It was then that Monday that I found out I had cancer, so that was a great eight days. Lots of fun.”
Ikahihifo’s husband Semisi found the lump in June and she admitted that, with being in the middle of Ireland camps, she put off going to the doctors for a couple of weeks.
The diagnosis came on her mum’s birthday and Ikahihifo chose not to tell her family the news to ensure her mum, through whom she qualifies for Ireland, had as nice a day as possible.
Ireland captain Edel McMahon praised her teammate’s selflessness, with Ikahihifo not revealing that she had breast cancer until the squad were well set in their World Cup preparations.
Ikahihifo added: “In myself, I was feeling really healthy. It was not the greatest thing, but I was literally the strongest and healthiest I had been in terms of stats because I was prepping for the World Cup.
“When you have cancer, it is not just you that is affected, it is also everyone around you and everyone that cares about you.
“So, when people think ‘Shan’s got cancer’, immediately if they can’t see me physically in front of them and that I am okay, I had an inkling that the news would affect people more than it needed to.
“I wanted that news to have as little disruption as possible, and because in myself I still felt healthy and happy, I was in a state where if I could make the blow a little bit softer for everyone around me, why wouldn’t I? It was a no-brainer.
“Especially for my mum, she is a very loving and nurturing person, and I just knew that as soon as she heard the news, she would want to be on the first flight here or want me to come home. She was also having a nice birthday, and I didn’t want to ruin that day for her.
“Similarly, with the Irish girls, they are all so lovely, so I know they wouldn’t have held it against me for telling them earlier, but because they are so caring, then some of them could have been affected in a bad way for the World Cup. I had great support from Edel, Sam, and the Irish doctor, so I was happy for them to tell the squad when they deemed it was the most appropriate.
Ikahihifo attended Ireland’s pool stage game against her homeland of New Zealand to show players on both sides that she was still ‘me’.
Since then, the back rower has begun eight rounds of chemotherapy, after which she will undergo surgery.
In a sign of what the rugby community can do, her Trailfinders team have already developed a rota to accompany her to chemotherapy.
Once Ikahihifo is done with treatment, there is a desire to return home to be closer to her family, and while there is likely to be a return to the rugby pitch, she is also keen to try her hand at triathlon.
Before then, the Auckland native is hopeful that those who hear her story take at least one thing away from it – to regularly check your breasts
Ikahihifo is speaking during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the PWR have partnered with the leading research and support charity Breast Cancer Now, whose ‘TLC: Touch, Look, Check’ breast awareness message encourages people to know their normal and check anything new or unusual with a GP.
The partnership will focus on making sure everyone is breast aware - knowing both the possible signs and symptoms of breast cancer and the importance of regularly checking their breasts - and connecting with communities who face the biggest barriers to improving breast awareness and early detection.
It will spread this vital message through the league’s fanbase of 5 million people, over half of whom are aged 18-34 and over half of which are female.
Ikahihifo adds: “I don’t really like much of the attention, and as much as I want to raise awareness, I also don’t want my cancer to be my identity.
“It is something I am going through, I am hoping it is just a part of the journey, and then it is over.
“But while I am going through it, I want people to take from my experience that I am only 30 years old, and in the UK, you don’t get invited to be screened for breast cancer until you are 50. That would have been 20 years too late for me.
“Obviously, I am pretty sure I would have noticed it myself a lot sooner than that, but because the risk isn’t as high at my age, although it is becoming more common, I didn't realise how important it is to self-check whatever your age.
“That is probably the biggest thing for me, if you catch it sooner, the better the chances of treatment being successful. I want people to get into a routine of regularly checking, with an alarm or every first of the month, you are checking to see if there are any changes.
“And if people end up doing that, from my experience, that will be the best thing, because while hopefully no one ends up with breast cancer, but if they do, hopefully it will be early enough to treat it successfully, and it would be curable.
“Don’t think you are too young to get breast cancer, and if you do find something, don’t be like me and wait weeks to get it checked out because I was very lucky it hadn’t spread in that time.”
t’s time to give your breasts some TLC – find out more at //breastcancernow.org/checking
And if you’ve got any questions, you can speak to expert nurses on Breast Cancer Now’s free, confidential helpline (0808 800 6000).Signs and symptoms of breast cancer include:
• A lump or swelling in the breast, upper chest or armpit
• A change to the skin, such as puckering or dimpling
• A change in the colour of the breast – the breast may look darker, red or inflamed
• A nipple change, for example it has become pulled in (inverted)
• Rash or crusting around the nipple
• Unusual liquid (discharge) from either nipple
• Changes in size or shape of the breast
On its own, pain in your breasts is not usually a sign of breast cancer. But look out for pain in your breast or armpit that’s there all or almost all the time.
Although rare, men can get breast cancer. The most common symptom of breast cancer in men is a lump in the chest area.
Wear pink. Raise money. Help fund lifesaving breast cancer research and life-changing support. Visit wearitpink.org/signup.
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