Limerick breast cancer survivor Juliette O’Connell named Very Pink Run ambassador

Breast Cancer Ireland Patient Supporter and Outreach Co-ordinator Juliette O’Connell from Limerick and her daughter Ava in 2024, having fun at the launch of Breast Cancer Ireland’s Very Pink Run. Picture: David Keane.

‘Research is the reason I’m alive today’ – Limerick woman Juliette O’Connell backs Very Pink Run

Limerick woman Juliette O’Connell is using her own remarkable cancer journey to encourage people across Munster to become more aware of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer.

The Kilteely resident, originally from Herbertstown, has been named as a patient ambassador for Breast Cancer Ireland’s Very Pink Run in Cork.

Juliette was just 41 when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in March 2012.

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Fit, healthy and a keen cyclist, she had no family history of the disease and had never considered herself at particular risk.

Her first warning sign was not a lump, but a rash across her collarbone and left breast which would disappear and return.

“I was 41 years old when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. There was no family history in my family and I was a keen cyclist,” she said.

“For me at 41, I wasn’t breast aware. I didn’t know the signs and symptoms of breast cancer apart from a lump.”

Juliette underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy and was also placed on a clinical trial involving the drug Herceptin.

Now 14 years cancer-free, she believes the research and clinical trials funded by events such as the Very Pink Run have helped give her the chance to see her children grow up.

She says that had she received the same diagnosis 20 years earlier, her life could have been very different.

“I might never have seen my daughter in a debs dress or watched my sons go off to college,” she said.

Juliette is now a member of the Breast Cancer Ireland team, working as an outreach coordinator throughout Munster. She also serves as the organisation’s Limerick ambassador for the Very Pink Run.

Through her work, she delivers talks and educational programmes across the region, encouraging people to understand that breast cancer is about more than simply looking for a lump.

“The run is so very important because we need to keep funding research and trials,” Juliette said.

“They are the reason that I and a lot of other people are alive today.”

She is also passionate about raising awareness among younger people.

“We also need to keep educating people. Breast cancer is not just about finding a lump and the earlier we raise awareness, even among school students, the more lives will be saved.”

Thousands of people are expected to take part in this year’s Very Pink Run, which returns with live events in Dublin, Kilkenny and Cork between August 29 and September 6.

The Cork event will take place at MTU Cork on September 6.

The pink-powered fundraiser, sponsored by online retailer Very, supports breast cancer research as well as nationwide awareness and education programmes.

Since its inception, the Very Pink Run has attracted more than 110,000 participants across 40 countries and raised more than €8 million.

Alongside the 5k and 10k run and walk routes, this year’s Cork event will feature live music, children’s entertainment, family games and festival-style food.

For Juliette, however, the event represents far more than a day of running and fundraising.

It is a reminder of how far breast cancer treatment has come — and why continued investment in research is so important.

“I’m incredibly grateful that I’m now 14 years cancer-free,” she said.

And as she prepares to support the Very Pink Run in Cork, Juliette hopes her story will encourage others to become more breast aware and to seek medical advice if they notice changes.

Her message is simple: knowing the signs, acting early and continuing to fund research can save lives.