A woman who has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer after doctors missed early symptoms has said she feels “relief” that it was caught in the end. 

University Hospital Galway has apologised to 28-year-old Michelle Craughwell who was given a scan in 2023. 

She had been referred by her GP because she was suffering from pain in her kidney, a health condition that she has lived with her entire life. 

Although the cancer was visible on the scan, the hospital failed to report it. 

“Between 2024 and 2025 I just started noticing a few issues within myself,” Ms Craughwell explained on Newstalk Breakfast. 

“I had like constant pain near my right kidney, I was getting extreme hot flushes, anxiety attacks and panic attacks that I'd never ever had a problem with in my life that got so bad that I ended up taking a month off work and everything.” 

Eventually, Ms Craughwell was sent in for another scan and it was only then that she learnt the truth about her health. 

“We were told that the tumour had gone from a two centimetre tumour to an 8 by 13 centimetre tumour,” she recounted. 

“It [had] spread to my liver and surrounding lymph nodes as well. 

“So, what could have been a simple surgery back in 2023 ended up being a major surgery, four rounds of chemo and almost a year of taking a chemo medication. 

“But my body wasn't able to handle that so I had to get taken off it.” 

It has been, Ms Craughwell continued, a “really tough” time and she feels exhausted “all the time”. 

“There's some days I can barely get out of bed,” she said. 

“I've definitely kind of lost a bit of life, I've definitely lost a little bit of my spark.

“I would consider myself a very outgoing, bubbly person and I've kind of just lost that a little bit.” 

Treatment

Nowadays, she is back living with her father in Tuam and spends most of her time sleeping. 

Her social life has suffered, with a number of friends giving up on her. 

However, she feels she has also come to terms with it. 

“To be honest, at the time I was just really grateful that I wasn't going crazy,” Ms Craughwell said. 

“Because over 2024 and 2025, I'd gone to the doctor so many times with my side effects and I felt like I wasn't being taken seriously by different doctors. 

“Or I felt like they kind of just kept brushing off what I was saying and I just knew that there was something wrong inside my body. 

“So, I just got such a relief when I found out it was something that could be like dealt with.”

Despite being diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, she feels her mental health has improved in recent months. 

Her anxiety is gone, she no longer has panic attacks and she feels like a weight has been “lifted off my shoulders”. 

At this point, she feels there is “no point kind of dwelling in the past” because the present is all there is. 

“I'm just grateful that it was caught when it was, that it didn't get worse,” she said. 

“The medical team that I have now, they're amazing and I couldn't ask for better support from everybody in my life.”

Main image: Michelle Craughwell. Image: Supplied.