Marge Brennan grew up in a tenement in Dublin. Maybe because of that, her mother was obsessed with cleanliness and wouldn't let Marge bring her friends in the house, in case they made a mess.

Marge inherited that obsession with cleaning and tidying. "I was a bit screwy", she says.

That all changed in 1985 when Marge discovered a lump on her breast. A double mastectomy and implants followed.

She was angry and frustrated, "Why did this happen to me? I had done nothing."

Then, slowly, she realised that the cancer had given her a new life. She didn't care so much about cleaning and tidying the house so much any more. "I had more time for my kids. I had more time for people."

Marge was interviewed by Jane O'Connor

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October 2012

The Curious Ear is produced by Ronan Kelly curiousear@rte.ie

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