Paul Mescal’s mam is determined to attend the Oscars this month with her son.
The mum of three is currently undergoing treatment for Multiple myeloma, which is a type of bone marrow cancer that often affects several areas of the body, such as the spine, skull, pelvis and ribs. According to Dearbhla, she found out that she had cancer last July after she attended Wimbledon with son Paul.
She told RTE's Ray D'Arcy Show on Monday: “I came home from Wimbledon with Paul and I had a scan after work on the Tuesday. On the Thursday, they found tumours. The pain had been in my right shoulder.”
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“Nell had just released her song and Donncha had just moved to New York, I didn’t want to overshadow any of that. I was talking into my phone saying to the kids ‘it’s good cancer’, of course they’re saying ‘what’s good cancer?’” said Dearbhla.
Dearbhla explained how at this point they didn't know what cancer it was, and that she did 17 weeks of chemotherapy. The Kildare woman is keeping positive about her diagnosis, and said: “I will be super duper, hopefully. It’s not a curable cancer, it’s more like a disease but I can live with it and I will take any medicines and do my holistic life.
"The last few years have just happened to us, and it’s how you react. Do you dance in the rain or sit in the corner?" she added. Dearbhla said that "all of us know somebody with cancer", and added "now suddenly I am the person with cancer."
She told Ray D'Arcy: "I do see my glass as half full. I think there are very tough days, I'm not used to not having energy and taking as many tablets but I trust that where I'm supposed to be is where I'm supposed to be. I'm very lucky that my three children are healthy."
Meanwhile, the Kildare mum also opened up about her son Paul's overnight stardom after Normal People and how the family are handling it all as they prepare to fly to LA for the Oscar’s next week. She said that she also gave Paul important life advice during the Covid-19 pandemic just before Normal People came out.
Dearbhla explained that one day during the pandemic that Paul had just come back from a run when the pair sat down for a chat. She told him that if his career all came crashing down that "there’s always home" to come back to.
Dearbhla said: "That’s reality. Like for any of us, there’s always home. I have a blanket that I got made that says, ‘soft place to land’ and I think for any parent when your children, particularly at my age. I’m 54, when they’re at home, you can tuck them into bed and they’re quite safe but as soon as they start to move out, you can’t be there but what you can say is ‘I’m here, I’m always here and what’s the worst thing that can happen?"
Thankfuly, Dearbhla is doing well and said that her doctors have given her the go ahead to attend the Oscar's ceremony in LA with son Paul on March 13. Paul's parents also recently joined him at the BAFTAs where he was nominated for best actor for his role in Aftersun.
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