Irish woman warns of 'silent killer' cancer that…

Irish woman warns of 'silent killer' cancer that killed her fit and active mother

An Irish woman has told of the "silent killer" that took her healthy mother's life.

Kirstie Nowak's mother, Mavis Phelan, died from an aggressive glioblastoma brain tumour in May 2022.

The Kerry woman has now warned people of the "devastating" cancer that showed little warning signs.

At 82 years old, Kirstie said her mum was "fit and active," had a "clean bill of health", and showed no symptoms before her "cruel illness."

Kirstie said her husband, Artur, first noticed something was wrong on New Year's Eve last year when Mavis took a "funny turn" after coming home from a walk.

She told Cork Beo: "Artur said Mum seemed to have a funny turn, which he thought may have been due to low blood pressure,

"He took her to the medical centre, where they did an electrocardiogram. They also checked to see if she had a stroke, but they said that Mum was fine and had a clean bill of health."

Despite the doctors not finding anything, Kirstie said her mother "kept saying she thought she had suffered a seizure."

Just a week later, Mavis had what turned out to be a second seizure in the family kitchen.

She bumped her head and was taken to University Hospital Kerry.

Kirstie explained that after her mom was given an MRI scan and doctors discovered a "shadow on her brain.

"The neurosurgeon called me and said that Mum had a glioblastoma and there was nothing they could do for her.

"How can something like this come out of nowhere? There weren't any signs such as headaches," she said.

"It was like a silent killer. The really rotten thing is that there is no cure."

Mavis was then given a biopsy test, where samples were taken to be examined. Afterwards, Kirstie said her mom's communication was affected.

"After Mum had a biopsy, her speech and mobility were both affected. She got agitated because she couldn't communicate properly, but she was always cheerful."

She needed help being lifted and fed and was moved to a nursing home in Tralee.

Five months after her diagnosis, Mavis died.

In memory of her mother, Kirstie is now planning to run the Dublin Marathon next weekend to raise awareness and funds for Brain Tumour Research.

She said: "I want to do something practical because that's my way of dealing with things. I have sciatica, and both of my knees have gone, but it's for a great cause.

"More people need to know about brain tumours. So little funding goes towards researching them, and that's got to change," she said.

Of the national spending on cancer research, 1% is allocated to researching brain tumours - a cancer that kills hundreds of Irish people each year.

Kirstie said: "More needs to be known about this devastating disease because more research will give people more time with their loved ones."