• About Us
    • Who We Are
      • Our History
      • Our Team
      • Our Board of Directors
      • Our Vision / Mission / Values
      • Careers
    • What We Do
      • Patient and Family Support Services
      • Training for medical, nursing and hospital based staff
      • Research
    • Governance
      • Fundraising Standards
      • Annual Report & Accounts
      • Complaints Procedure
  • Patient & Family Support Services
    • Galway Cancer Support Centre
      • Galway Individual Support
      • Galway Group Support
      • Galway Support Services for Children (3-18)
      • Cancer Rehab Service
    • Donegal Cancer Support Centre
      • Donegal Individual Support
      • Donegal Group Support
    • Accommodation Services
      • Inis Aoibhinn
      • Patient & Family Accommodation Support
      • Donate to Cancer Care West Bus Appeal
  • Courses and Awareness
    • Prostate Cancer Support
    • Cancer Thriving and Surviving
    • Bowel Cancer Awareness
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
      • Donate To Us
      • Remember someone
      • Leaving a Legacy
      • Other ways to donate
      • Why Donate
      • Why Choose Us?
    • Fundraising and Events
      • Events
      • Organise your own fundraising event
        • What’s Involved
        • Fundraising event FAQs
        • Event Ideas
      • Inspiring Stories
      • Volunteer
    • Ways to Support Us
      • How Your Company Can Help
      • How Your School or University Can Help
      • Online Fundraising
      • Weddings and Parties
      • Donate
  • Contact Us
Donate

Eithne’s Story

12th December 2016 by

When I heard the words breast cancer my first thoughts were for my three teenage kids, and how my husband and I were going to tell them.  I was devastated, not so much by my diagnosis, but by the legacy that I felt I might be leaving my daughter (I have two sons also).  We waited until we knew the whole story about the cancer, the treatment plan (explained clearly by a wonderful cancer team), and the prognosis before we spoke to them and though they were incredibly shocked, they understood that in actual fact we were lucky – the cancer had been caught early and was totally treatable. We knew we had a rough year or so ahead but we also knew that I would be fine at the end of it all. Kids take their lead from you –  if you can be positive and optimistic about the outcome, so can they.

While I was going through my chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy treatments I became more aware of the Cancer Care West’s support centre in Galway.  Although I had known the building to see from the outside I had never been in there.  Encouraged by a friend who had used the services, I walked in, very tentatively the first time, to see what supports were available to me.  The Cancer Support Centre is an amazing place – inclusive, comforting, warm and friendly and I felt as if arms had been put around me from the moment I walked in.  I had some helpful counselling sessions, gorgeous massages and took the mindfulness and nutrition courses, all a huge help and all free of charge.

Two years after my diagnosis I was back at work, juggling multiple projects and feeling under a lot of pressure.  It takes a while to recover from cancer, particularly from the fatigue that lasts for some time.  I realised that I needed some more support to help me to find a balance – so I went back to the Cancer Support Centre. Two years on I received the same welcome that I had when I was in the middle of my treatment.  I got a support top up and great advice from a wonderful psychologist, who is experienced and qualified in the specialist area of psycho-oncology.

I believe you have to make friends with cancer in order to work through it, and in many ways my cancer journey has been an extremely positive experience. I will never forget the love and support I received during my treatment and afterwards. I appreciate life more now and am kinder to myself and others; I am more compassionate – conscious of the burdens that people can be carrying.  There is a fear factor that never quite goes away, but if I was asked if would I turn the clock back and rub out my cancer experience, I honestly can’t say that I would.

We are so lucky to have a service like Cancer Care West in our city and to have a great team running it. It deserves all of our support.

Maria’s Story

12th December 2016 by

From the moment I arrived at the Cancer Support Centre I felt welcome. I talked to Elaine, one of the Oncology nurses, and realised that it was the first time since my diagnosis that I didn’t feel alone. I am generally a resilient, positive person, but cancer can be a very isolating illness and there were days when I didn’t feel strong. I arranged a series of counselling sessions with Helen, one of the Psychologists. Helen treated me as a person and not just as a patient, and helped me to put things in perspective and to realise that it was ok to have days when I felt down. She helped me to find a way to talk with my teenage son about what was happening with my illness and treatment.

I used many of the services at the Cancer Support Centre, all free of charge – yoga and tai chi classes, reflexology and nutrition, and massage therapies which I found really helpful, physically and emotionally. I have been living on illness benefit since I became sick and I simply wouldn’t have had access to any of these support services if I had had to pay for them myself.

I haven’t found cancer treatment difficult and fortunately have had no side effects; however I really don’t think I would be feeling as good as I am without the emotional support of Cancer Care West. I think everyone who experiences cancer needs some support and for me it was the safe haven of Cancer Care West’s Cancer Support Centre.

Ryan’s Story

12th December 2016 by

I always wanted to work in overseas development, so after University I took a course teaching English and travelled to Ghana to experience working abroad. I was there 9 months when I started getting abdominal pains and at first assumed I had eaten something that didn’t agree with me. After a few weeks it got worse and I was taken to hospital in Accra, the capital of Ghana, where doctors initially thought I had a cyst, but then discovered a tumour that had caused damage to my intestines and stomach. I had surgery in Ghana to repair a lot of the damage and spent two weeks in hospital recovering before coming home to Galway.

As the surgery hadn’t been done in Galway it was difficult to identify the problem, but finally I got a diagnosis of testicular cancer which had spread to my abdomen. My Left kidney had also been damaged during surgery. I was told that the cancer was very treatable with chemotherapy, however the following month I started having pain again. The cancer had come back and had spread to my liver, lungs and lymph nodes. I now needed a new treatment plan which included chemotherapy, 3 stem cell transplants, and 3 months in isolation at University Hospital Galway.

Prior to being isolated I spent a month in hospital and it was during that time that Helen from the Cancer Support Centre came to see me. I don’t remember much from that visit but I do remember Helen saying ‘we will be here for you when you get out.’ I spent Christmas and my birthday in hospital in isolation. It was a very difficult, confusing time and I tried not to become identified with having cancer. I felt it could have been very easy to go down a black hole and very tough to pull myself out if it.

My mum used the Cancer Support Centre a lot during this time. It was a huge help to her to have a place of quiet and support away from the hospital environment. She could relate to people there and get answers to the many questions she had. I think it helped normalise what was going on for her.

Six months after treatment I was still recovering from being so unwell. I used the Cancer Support Centre regularly and found it gave me structure to my life even if it was just for an hour a day. I had massage therapy and weekly counselling sessions and I took yoga classes and a course in mindfulness. I also attended the young person’s support group which I found very reassuring. It was fantastic to be around other people who had had similar experiences, especially after being isolated for so long.

I overcame more hurdles during the coming months – I developed septicaemia, had my kidney removed and had surgery on my liver. The Cancer Support Centre continued to be a huge help to me during this time.

Getting through this experience has given me great resolve for the future. I recently graduated from NUIG with a 1st class honours Masters degree. My checkups have moved from every 3 to 6 months and my plan for the future is to relax, get fit, find full time work and spend some time travelling.
I can’t overstate the support of the staff and volunteers at the Cancer Support Centre and would advise anyone dealing with a cancer experience to get in touch and see how they could help.

Join our social community

VIEW OUR LIVE SOCIAL MEDIA FEEDS

Inis Aoibhinn

091 545 000

[email protected]

Galway Cancer Support Center

091 540 040

[email protected]

Charity Registered Number : 20030438
CHY Number : 11260

Donegal Cancer Support Center

074 960 1901

[email protected]