Sabina Higgins, Ireland’s first lady and wife of President Michael D. Higgins, has undergone a successful procedure as part of ongoing treatment she is receiving for breast cancer.

The news was confirmed earlier today, in a statement issued by Áras an Uachtaráin.

“I would like to express my sincere thanks to the doctors and medical staff who are providing me with such expert care in my treatment,” Sabina Higgins said in a statement.

She went on to encourage women of all ages to continually check for symptoms of breast cancer – placing a special emphasis on the need for women t keep up those checks past hte age of 70.

"I would like to take the opportunity of my diagnosis,” she said, "to call on all women to be aware of the symptoms of breast cancer and to seek checks as regularly as they can.

"It may come as a surprise to many people,” she added, "to learn that the risk of breast cancer increases with age and that 36% of women diagnosed with breast cancer in Ireland are over the age of 70.

"While BreastCheck screening runs for women up to the age of 69, I would urge all women over the age of 70 of the vital importance of continuing to look for any potential symptoms of breast cancer on a regular basis and to seek medical checks whenever possible,” she concluded.

Sabine Higgins participated earlier this year in Nothing Compares: A Celebration of Irish Women Artists, reading two poems on a sparkling night at the Moat Theatre in Naas, that also included performances by Imelda May, Eleanor McEvoy, Gemma Dunleavy, Mary Stokes, Susan O’Neill, Tolu Makay, Megan O’Neill and Laura Murphy, poet-in-residence with Herstory.