A woman from Swords discovered she had cancer after she complained to her GP that she was feeling exhausted.
Mary O’Callaghan, 74, can’t even remember the reason why she went to her GP in August 2019 when she off-handedly mentioned she was feeling tired all the time. Her GP, remembering how strong Mary was when she was getting her hip replaced not too long ago, told her: “What's going on? I know how stoic you can be.”
Mary responded: “If you’re talking about stoicism, my sister is the stoic one. My younger sister had breast cancer and she told none of us until she was out of the woods until after two years when she finished her chemo.”
Read more: Mother's Day: Last minute gift ideas and discounts
The doctor immediately sent Mary for a mammogram where it was discovered she had the same cancer as her sister. Mary's cancer treatment included two surgeries and both chemotherapy and radiation simultaneously.
However, the former TU lecturer thinks that women are still shying away from the topic of breast cancer, afraid to even mention it or do the self-examinations as if they would somehow summon it and end up actually finding something. “If somebody doesn't start the conversation and create awareness, other people could slip through the net, particularly older people who are not having regular mammograms," she said.
Mary is also not impressed with the “rarely proactive” Irish healthcare system. The government cuts off free mammograms for women at the age of 69, “when we're at our most vulnerable”. Mary added: “There are many women out there of that age who are on small pensions and have no spare money and mammograms are not top of their budgeting list.”
Fortunately, Mary has since recovered even though she hasn’t yet fully “gotten her mojo back”. She said: “I feel humbled because why me? Why have I survived? I've reared my family and have had a great life, really. But when I saw in the survivors group I was in – so many young mums with young children over and, you know, your heart would break.
"And that's so humbling, to still be here. It puts any little pain or fatigue or lack of mojo or whatever you wanna call it, into context. It's the price you pay to be alive. Pain, it's part of being very much alive. Better than the alternative.” The mother-of-five – who also has seven grandchildren – will be going on a trip to Brussels and will soon celebrate her 52nd wedding anniversary with her husband in September.
Mary hopes to raise awareness with her story and to get more women to be vigilant. No matter the age, she said, women need to listen to their bodies. Fatigue is a “totally underestimated symptom of things not being right in the body”. The cancer survivor said: “Anyone I know who's been seriously ill, they have all complained of fatigue beforehand for months leading up to the diagnosis.” This tends to be easily brushed off by people, however.
“I don't want people to be afraid, I want them to go get treatment the minute they listen to the body and the minute they feel this exhaustion where even after a good night's sleep, you're exhausted. That's not natural." Mary is thankful to her surgeons, her “fabulous” nursing team, the volunteers in the society and Irish Cancer Society where she has started volunteering and will be helping at the society's fundraising event Daffodil Day next Friday.
Irish Cancer Society CEO Averil Power said: “Every three minutes someone in Ireland hears the words ‘you have cancer’. Cancer takes from us every day. It takes big days, little days, and everything in-between. It replaces them with treatment days and recovery days. But together, we have the power to take these days back from cancer. The Irish Cancer Society’s Daffodil Day is a day to give hope and raise vital funds so that one day, cancer can take no more.
“Daffodil Day is our most important fundraising event of the year with donations funding crucial supports including our Support Line, free counselling, our Night Nurses service, and financial support for families of children affected by cancer. The public’s generosity on Daffodil Day allows us to support life-changing cancer research."
A spokeswoman for the society added: "The Irish Cancer Society’s Daffodil Day, the day we take back from cancer, takes place on Friday 24th of March 2023. Visit [our official page] to make a donation."
Read next:
St Patrick's Day 2023 Dublin: Gardai issue safety advice for revellers ahead of celebrations
Eurovision champs Maneskin announce Dublin 3Arena date on new world tour
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
