A 38-year-old woman with incurable cancer has said her daughters give her the drive to keep going.
She said she was determined to take a case against the HSE because she should not be here today going through this and does not want other women to suffer.
"I've only ever wanted a simple life and to see my children grow up," Ms Macken said.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Ms Macken said that telling her family about her stage four diagnosis was the "hardest thing".
"Even facing my family and telling them was horrific. That was the worst part for me," she said.
She said she speaks as honestly as she can to her eight-year-old daughter, but that she cannot tell her that she will be ok.
Ms Macken said that she let her children help her shave her head so that it would not come as a shock when she lost her hair.
"I just felt like I needed to stick up for myself. I did do everything I was meant to do and for them to validate, that was huge for me."
Her youngest daughter was just three when she was diagnosed, and does not really know anything different.
Ms Macken said she was shocked to get an apology from the HSE and felt overwhelmed when she saw the words written on paper.
"I didn't realise how much it would mean to me ... just seeing the words on paper, it was really overwhelming," adding, "it justified everything for me".
"I just felt like I needed to stick up for myself. I did do everything I was meant to do and for them to validate, that was huge for me."
She said she knew that something was wrong but ultrasounds, bloods and tests were all coming back normal.
She said she thought it was because her body had changed after having two babies, she explained, but then she went for a smear test in 2023.
She said that at first she was told the cancer was stage one and had a hysterectomy, but the operation revealed that she needed further chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment.
It was hard to pinpoint it, she added, but said she knew something still was not right, and in January this year she was told the cancer was stage four, which was "gut wrenching".
"It's basically treatable to a certain extent, but it's not curable."
She is taking part in a quadruple therapy - two chemotherapies and two immunotherapies, which she said is tough.
Ms Macken has encouraged women to go for their smear test.
"It didn't work for me but it can still work for other people," she said, "and I have friends who have had early detection as a result of a smear test".
She added that she did not want people to take from her experience that smear tests do not work, but said there needs to be more oversight.
"My girls will get the [HPV] vaccination without a shadow of a doubt," she added.
Earlier, the Minister for Health apologised to Ms Macken and her family.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said the failures in Ms Macken's smear tests should not have happened.
"I want to offer my apology too in this case. What we have here is a 38-year-old woman who has been impacted by this, and so have her family, and that is so, so important," she said.
The minister added that a screening programme will have limitations, but said Ms Macken should not have had to fight for an audit into her personal records.
Patients need timely, open disclosure and resolution to their cases rather than the added stress of the court process, the minister said.
"She should not have had to fight for her records," said Ms Carroll MacNeill.
"They need a resolution to their case, and they do not need additional stress through going through the court process."
The minister added that medical negligence cases need to be treated and approached in a different way.
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Ms Macken said she would "absolutely love" the opportunity to meet the minister, saying it is important for her to speak up and "I think it's important that people understand the stories behind people like me".
"We are peoples' daughters and mothers and we shouldn't be going through this," she said.
"I'm a very open person and I'm very open to a chat. I think as well they need to see these people in real life and see what they're going through."
