Cancer survivor gives back to unit

Cavan Oncology Unit will purchase four brand new Doppler ultrasound machines with funds raised by a local woman who has survived cancer.

Killinkere native Karen Sheridan raised a massive €12,200 for the hospital unit as a way to say thank you for the highest quality care she received from the Cavan oncology team during her own journey with breast cancer.

Two machines will be placed in the Oncology Unit, while one will go to the A&E Department with the other going to the CT Department.

“I’m delighted that it can be given to them and reduce some kind of anxiety for them [patients] when they’re going in there.”

The mother of two, with the help of her family and the local community, organised a Halloween-themed barn dance last year with raffles and fancy dress on the night, which raised the sum for the unit.

“The money just kept coming in but, look, where is there a family that’s not affected by cancer nowadays?” she asked, adding that the Oncology Unit was “flabbergasted” when they heard how much was raised.

Sitting in a café after collecting her 11-year-old daughter Ceolagh from school, Karen shared her cancer story with The Anglo-Celt.

In May 2023, when she was 42 years of age, Karen noticed something unusual on her breast. She was sent to Dublin for a biopsy, mammogram and an ultrasound.

“At that stage I knew something was wrong,” she recalled.

It would be another two weeks before she got the results, however she had been told to “be prepared, that there was something there”.

“There was a cancerous tumour there, it was in my breast, it was breast cancer,” she said.

“It was a massive shock and a massive blow to us. I just couldn’t believe it, I was feeling well,” she continued.

Karen immediately went for surgery to remove the lump. However, afterwards, they found more cancer cells in one of the nodes under her arm, meaning she would have to go for Chemotherapy and Radiation.

“I had to have a CT body and bone scan and that was the most terrifying part of everything. To see what was going to happen, like had it spread or was it contained?

“I waited three weeks for those results and they were the most horrendous three weeks of our lives, just waiting for that.”

To her relief, the results came back clear. The cancer had not spread to any other part of her body.

“I have a 13-year-old and an 11-year-old, they depend a lot on mammy. That’s all I kept thinking about, my kids and my husband.”

Karen was sent to Cavan for her Chemotherapy, where from her very first day, she felt at home.

“They were just brilliant; they were so, so homely and they were always so nice. My mam and my sister always came with me and they were absolutely fantastic, there was tea and scones for myself and my mam and we just had time to chat. It never felt like a real hospital unit.

“I wasn’t scared anymore,” she recalled.

She described it as a “tough road” but is thankful that it finished in April last year. Her next appointment will be in a year’s time.

“You kind of say that you’ve got the all clear but you’re always a little bit hesitant. It [the cancer] was gone,” she affirmed of her last appointment.

With daffodil day coming up, Karen advised women to “be aware of their bodies”.

“It doesn’t really matter what age, nowadays it can happen to young or old. A lot of people think it’s not going to be me but, if they do notice that anything’s not right, just go and get it checked straight away.”