Teresa Mannion has opened up about her battle with cancer, saying she won’t let it “define” her.
The RTE reporter was given the all clear four years ago after being diagnosed a very rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. Although she initially found it difficult to speak about her illness publicly, now she is using her elevated public profile to raise awareness.
“It doesn’t define me and I don’t think about it a lot.” she told RSVP Magazine. “In fact, it took me a few years to be able to speak out about it. I only went public last year and now I am glad that I did; hopefully other people will pick up the phones and make appointments with BreastCheck.
“Now that I have a high profile, it is nice to be able to give something back because I am really healthy. I am in my 50s, I am fit and happy and I got loads from my experience on DWTS. I feel like I am back in my 30s and it is all good.”
Teresa’s scary diagnosis made her reevaluate her life and now she makes an effort to seize every day and live her life to the fullest.
“I have to go for a mammogram every year and it is always positive. I was diagnosed with a very aggressive type of cancer, triple negative, and they don’t have a cure for it or a targeted therapy – they are working on it.” she said.
“I didn’t know that there were different types of breast cancer, but mine was more rare and it is scary to think of what might have been.
“They did really well and it was hardly there – I feel so blessed. Life is for living, it is very short, so grasp the opportunities as they come along.”
