Irish Cancer Society

29/07/2025

We have noticed an issue with our website this morning. We appreciate your understanding as we work as quickly as possible to resolve! 🛠️

In the meantime, if you need support our Freephone Support Line is still available on 1800 200 700, or via email at: supportline@irishcancer.ie

29/07/2025

Did you know, our Freephone Support Line is staffed by expert cancer nurses, who are here to help!

No question is too big or small - we're here to listen and provide the support, guidance, and advice you need.

Call us on Freephone 1800 200 700 (9am - 5pm, Monday - Friday) or email us anytime at: supportline@irishcancer.ie

Confidential, free, and here for you 💛
Reach out today and share this with anyone who may need it!

27/07/2025

“The cancer could come back and if that happens, I will deal with it then, but it’s probably not going to be today or tomorrow, and I am currently making the most of the ‘now’.”

Mike Freeney, 58, from Limerick was an ultra-trail runner who clocked up hundreds of kilometres running across mountains in Ireland, the UK, and the US, when in 2022 he started noticing a crackle in his breathing and throat issues.

He went to his doctor about it, and hospital tests confirmed that Mike had hypopharyngeal (throat) cancer, which had spread to his lymph nodes. He's sharing his story today to mark World Head & Neck Cancer Day.

Mike's treatment included chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and a PET scan in May 2023 showed that Mike's throat was clear of cancer. However, a cancerous growth was found on his sacral spine.

At the same time, Mike had become addicted to painkillers he had used to treat a previous running injury, and went into severe withdrawals as he needed to get off the painkillers to go ahead with his cancer treatment.

Mike underwent stereotactic radiation to remove the growth on his sacral spine. At the next scan, the throat and the initial spine disease was gone, but there were small tumours in his lungs and another two spots on the sacral spine.

“In July 2024 I had another ten rounds of radiation on my sacral spine and I managed the treatment using only a short dose of steroids and without opioids," says Mike. "I stayed on immunotherapy, and at the end of August 2024, I went in for a scan.

"They said they could hardly find anything in my lungs, and the things that were on my sacral spine were gone – all that was left was the scar tissue from them.

“Fast forward to January 2025, I went in for another scan and they told me that I currently have no active disease. I was a little bit incredulous, I found it very hard to take in and accept, because every other scan I went for the results were ‘Well, it’s not terrible, but….’.”

To read Mike's story in full, visit https://brnw.ch/21wUsdr

22/07/2025

😟Lumps and bumps are normal. So is searching online when you’re worried. But let us help you out – it’s literally what we’re here for!

is a rare cancer that can affect young people. It’s found in bone and soft tissue – often in your leg, but it can be anywhere in your body.

💛This , learn more here: https://www.cancer.ie/cancer-information/cancer-types/sarcoma

21/07/2025

“I remember when my oncologist called me in and said he had good news, he couldn’t see any cancer in my scans anymore. I was elated and emotional beyond belief, because a few months before, I was so sick that I’d pretty much given up.”

Paul Mooney, 58, from Lucan, Co. Dublin was diagnosed with head and neck cancer twice, first in 2019 and again in 2023. Before his first diagnosis, Paul noticed a lump in his neck but otherwise felt well.

“I’m the type of person where when I get colds or the flu, I usually get an ear infection and swollen glands,” says Paul. “I remember I got a lump on my neck, just below and forward from my ear. I thought it was swollen glands and that I was going to have a cold, but the cold never came.

“A few weeks later, the lump was still there and hadn’t gone away, and I happened to finish work early one day, so I decided to go to my GP. She gave me a letter to go to the Eye and Ear Hospital to get it checked out.”

Further tests revealed that Paul had a stage one head and neck cancer, and he remembers how it felt when he received the news.

“When I was told it was cancer, it felt like my whole world just collapsed. I wanted to use a lot of bad language, but then my thoughts were just focused on what I needed to do next.”

One of the key sources of information for Paul after he was diagnosed was an Irish Cancer Society booklet about head and neck cancer.

“I remember, after I was diagnosed, reading an Irish Cancer Society booklet on head and neck cancer,” says Paul. “I’d never heard of that cancer before I was diagnosed, it wasn’t one of the common ones every knows like breast or prostate.

“I remember it had really good tips for things like dry mouth, and it made me feel like I wasn’t alone. It made me realise that other people had been through this before.”

A week after his diagnosis, Paul underwent surgery and later had radiotherapy. His treatment was a success, and all was going well until he had a cancer reoccurrence in 2023.

To read Paul's story, which he's sharing ahead of World Head and Neck Cancer Day (27 July), visit https://brnw.ch/21wUjj1

21/07/2025

📌 Galway Shopping Centre, see you soon!

This Wednesday, July 23rd & Thursday, July 24th we'll be at Galway Shopping Centre, Headford Road with our Your Health Matters Roadshow offering free health checks!

Come down to have a chat with our friendly nurses, ask questions, and take a proactive step for your health! 💛

See you there 👩‍⚕️

21/07/2025

New research carried out by Think-tank for Action on Social Change (TASC), funded by the Irish Cancer Society, explores healthcare access for people from migrant communities in Ireland.

The research identifies a number of access issues for people from these communities including affordability, language and cultural barriers.

The research finds 1 in 2 people don’t feel confident they can access the healthcare they need.

The report identifies a range of challenges and highlights possible solutions, including reducing bureaucracy, creating more language resources and developing culturally sensitive and patient-centred care.

The research also calls for more to be done to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer and of cancer supports and services.

Read our summary here: https://brnw.ch/21wUipl

TASC - Think-Tank for Action on Social Change

One in five people living in Ireland was born outside the State. To date, little evidence is available on immigrant communities’ access to cancer and healthcare services. Click the link to learn more.

20/07/2025

“You can get through this. It is important to remember there is life after cancer.”

Michelle Lonergan travels across the country as an integral part of the team that brings the Irish Cancer Society's 'Your Health Matters' Roadshows to shopping centres nationwide, to increase awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer.

Michelle has worked as a nurse for 20 years, starting out at University Hospital Waterford, in both oncology and palliative care. She is now working with the Irish Cancer Society as a Cancer Awareness Nurse since 2022.

As far back as she can remember, Michelle has wanted to be a nurse. After a stay in the hospital when she was four years old, she was in awe of how caring the nurses there were to her. Ever since then, she’s known she had to pursue a career in nursing.

“I spent a month in the hospital with a ruptured appendix and, at the time, parents weren’t allowed to stay. The nurses there were so kind to me, and I guess that planted the seed.”

When she was a teenager, Michelle’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she passed away shortly after Michelle qualified as a nurse. Although Michelle has worked in different nursing departments, she has always felt the call to work with oncology.

“Despite trying out different areas, I always found myself coming back to cancer nursing. I find it really fulfilling and rewarding.”

Michelle’s role at the Irish Cancer Society centres on helping people understand what a cancer diagnosis really means, and how they can reduce their chances of developing cancer in the future.

“Small changes over time, that’s the message we try to give to people, that small little changes, like focusing on diet and exercise, wearing sunscreen and getting any symptoms of concern checked by your GP, all stack up in the long run.”

Michelle’s job goes far beyond just answering the clinical questions around cancer. She takes on the role of a kind, trusted teacher and she is a firm advocate for cancer prevention and early detection.

“I’m going to assess what they might need first, be there and provide an ear to listen.”
To read Michelle's story in full, visit https://brnw.ch/21wUhhj

18/07/2025

“Get anything that’s concerning you checked out as soon as possible. I wouldn’t have been the type to go to the doctor, I only went because the mole started seeping and bleeding.”

Stephen Gray, 48, was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2023. It was discovered after tests were carried out on a mole that was growing out of his back, near where a horsefly had previously bitten him.

“It started in September 2022,” says Stephen. “I got a bite on my back from a horsefly and didn’t pay much attention to it, then it came up as a lumpy mole, and started seeping and bleeding in March 2023.

“I went to see my GP about the lump. I told him about the horsefly bite, so he gave me antibiotics and a hospital referral. In September that year, I was working outside and my brother-in-law commented on the lump on my back.

“His partner worked in the hospital in Drogheda, and got me an appointment for that October, because I still hadn’t received an appointment from my doctor’s referral.”

When Stephen went to the hospital, it was decided that the best course of action was to remove the mole and send it for testing, which revealed that the mole was cancerous.

“They found that it was a malignant melanoma. I was shocked to be told that, I wasn’t really expecting anything to come from the lump – when you get something removed, you think that’s it, once it’s gone.

“When I got the news, I was on my own,” says Stephen, who is a father of six. “So, I went home and told my wife and kids. It didn’t sink in for me, at the beginning. It felt surreal. But when it hit me, I had so many thoughts running through my head like, what will happen? How far has the cancer gone?

“I had to go back to hospital in January 2024, for a deeper and wider incision on my back. They also took lymph nodes from under my arm, and the results showed that the cancer had spread slightly into my lymph nodes.”

Stephen's treatment included immunotherapy and a clinical trial, which were successful. He is now doing well, and is sharing his story to encourage others to be 'Skin Smart' and get any concerning skin changes checked by their GP.

To read his full story, visit https://brnw.ch/21wUf01

17/07/2025

“My nana had breast cancer 20 years ago, we lost mam to lung cancer in 2020, and now I find myself in my mid-20s with bowel cancer.”

In November 2024, aged just 26, Natasha O’Byrne, a mother of two from Innishannon, Cork was diagnosed with bowel cancer. “I had these severe pains in my chest. I’ve never had a heart attack, but I can only describe it as it felt like I was having one. I was very nauseous as well. I went to my GP and they told me it might be an ulcer or gallstones. I was put on Nexium and that helped for a few months. By October, I was in crippling pain again. It was so severe, I couldn’t walk. Over 2024, I was running a lot and it was probably the fittest and thinnest I’d been. In hindsight, unexplained weight loss is a symptom of bowel cancer, but for me, it wasn’t unexplained – it was because of my exercise and lifestyle. At least that’s what I thought.”

Following her crippling pain in October, Natasha was transferred by ambulance to Cork University Hospital. “They identified I had pancreatitis and I ended having a series of scans to determine what was going on. I was in hospital for two weeks. I think the first mention of the word ‘cancer’ was when the medical team wanted to investigate if I had lymphoma – a type of blood cancer – because I was so anemic. They also identified a number of polyps so they did a colonoscopy and a biopsy. On the 11th of November, I remember the exact date, I was back in and they told my bloods were clear and that it wasn’t lymphoma but that I did have bowel cancer.”

Receiving this news was incredibly difficult for Natasha. “It was shocking and really harrowing to be told that news, especially at my age. My family has been so impacted by cancer, it is truly devastating. It’s one of those things that is out of your hands. I never felt ‘why me’ – I suppose I’ve just had to get on with it. My first thoughts were straight to my children. Their quality of life and how do I make sure my treatment has as little affect as possible on them. They’re too young to fully understand but they know mummy is sick and that I’m taking medicine to try get better."

"I want to turn my cancer experience into something positive. I’m the third generation of my family to have cancer and I don’t want that same thing happening to my children. For that day to come when hopefully nobody gets cancer, organisations like the Irish Cancer Society need funding so they can invest more and more in cancer research. That’s why I decided to organise the ‘Concert for Cancer’ and I’m absolutely thrilled that Nathan Carter will be performing to raise vital funds for the Irish Cancer Society.”

‘Concert for Cancer’, organised by Nastasha, headlined by Nathan Carter supported by Clodagh Lawlor Music takes place Wednesday, 30th July at Cork City Hall. Tickets are available here: https://brnw.ch/21wUe8w

Read Natasha's story in full here: https://brnw.ch/21wUe8x

16/07/2025

Exciting news! The Irish Cancer Society are now accepting applications for the PPI in Research Award 2025. Up to €5,000 will be awarded to cancer researchers of all backgrounds, to develop public and patient involvement (PPI) activities at any stage of a research project. The deadline for applications is 3pm, Wednesday 27th August 2025. For more info, please visit: https://brnw.ch/21wUbvc

14/07/2025

📱It’s easy to go down a rabbit hole online about your treatment.

🏵️But we’re online too – and on the phone, on email, video calls and in person. Get in touch, for free.👩‍⚕️

📔We have information about you can trust: https://www.cancer.ie/cancer-information/cancer-types/sarcoma