Former Ipswich cancer surgeon treated for disease for third time

Dr Liz O'Riordan urged women to "know of the signs, stay vigilant"

A former breast cancer surgeon said it was "really scary" to receive her third cancer diagnosis.

Dr Liz O'Riordan, 48, noticed "a little nodule" and "had a sixth sense that it's come back again".

She had surgery on Friday and has been waiting to find out about follow-on treatment.

The former consultant, who lives near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, had a mastectomy in 2015 and had to retire in 2018 after a recurrence of the disease.

She said she would take a couple of months off to recover and recharge

Dr O'Riordan was cycling in Italy when she found the nodule.

"It was really scary to know if it was just back in my skin or was it elsewhere, in which case it was incurable," she said.

"That fear was horrible for a few weeks, but luckily it was just in my skin.

"I think everyone thinks, 'It's not fair, why is it happening to me?' and it's really hard to get your head around."

• NHS needs MeToo moment, says former surgeon

• 'Gritty and real' views of breast cancer

• Cancer patient unveils 'topless' statue

Dr O'Riordan, who has just published her second book, has been awaiting the results of her surgery.

"I'll find out if I need more radiotherapy or a different type of tablet to stop this happening a fourth time," she said.

Liz O'Riordan also paid tribute to her husband Dermot, who as a doctor had "an extra insight into what might happen" to her

She was working at Ipswich Hospital before her retirement, brought on after surgery and radiotherapy meant she was unable to use her left arm properly.

The author, public speaker and podcaster said: "I think that doctors have so little time to give patients the information they need, and if I can help bridge that gap between the doctors in the hospital and the patients then I'm still kind of being a doctor."

Dr O'Riordan urged women to "know of the signs, stay vigilant".

She added: "[With breast cancer], I don't think you're out of the woods until you die of something else, and that's quite a scary thing to live with, [but] most women they do go on and live a long and healthy life."