I was meticulously marked out with a pen seven days before, every black line and dot carefully applied to my left breast with precision accuracy. Be sure that you don’t get it wet, they warned, It will have to stay there for the next six weeks. My children would have something to say about that, I thought. And they did. ‘Mummy got her booby written on,’ remarked my daughter, without taking much of an interest. ‘Mummy got big tattoo!’ exclaimed …
This is no ordinary day, I think. The morning sun blinks out from a January sky and there are things to do that I have always done, but still I know that this day will probably change my life. I get the children ready. They chuckle at a cartoon on the television and wriggle themselves reluctantly into their coats. I’m trying to keep everything normal. I take my son to nursery and my daughter to school. They are very young. …
When a parent with young children is diagnosed with incurable cancer, this has an immediate and devastating impact not only for the person hearing the diagnosis, but for the whole family. New research findings from the ‘Family-centred Cancer Care’ programme of work led by a team of researchers at the Institute of Nursing and Health Research, Ulster University has been addressing how parents often need advice and support to navigate these unchartered waters. Health and social care professionals are well …
I’m on a journey, one I’ve never been on before. It’s not exactly a “magical mystery tour”, for I know the destination — the terminus — and while I can guess at some of the intermediate stops, I can’t be certain of them. I imagine I’m in a steam train, a slow train which stops everywhere, though sometimes it might be an express. I don’t know how long this journey will take, though my fare is a single rather than …
It’s time. Time to look back with candour on the thirty odd years since my breast cancer diagnosis and time, too, to write it down the way I experienced it, warts and all. But let’s start by getting one thing straight – I have not been on some kind of ‘journey’ cancer or otherwise; nor have I been fighting some almighty battle that is somehow meant to define my strength as an individual. I have simply been getting on with …
Patrick, 84 this year, is nothing short of a minor miracle. A bright, intelligent and curious man, had he not been such a heavy and committed drinker, his life might have been very different. He has always lived in the street where he grew up in the pitiful poverty of the 1930s. In spite of his sharp intelligence he never broke free from the impoverishment inherited from his parents. A few years back we were sure he would die. Following …
More than 70% of the population in the Republic of Ireland have to pay to see their GP, as well as prescription charges and Health Care Costs. More than one in four sick people are deterred from visiting their GP as a result. Costs to see a GP range from anywhere between €45 – €75, to call out an ambulance can cost anywhere from €100, as can a hospital stay. Add to that prescription charges and illness can be a …
Health Minister Edwin Poots said on Monday: Making a decision on the proposed radiotherapy unit at Altnagelvin was my first priority as Health Minister. It was vital that I took the time to look at all the evidence properly to reach the right decision for the right reasons. I have now thoroughly reviewed all the relevant information and I have decided to make the necessary funding – both current and capital – available. This amounts to £56million being made available …
Interesting series of YouTubes from Podge and Rodge tackling the vexed question of bowel cancer… And rightly, IMHO, getting it all out in the open…. Put together by the Irish Cancer Society, so don’t hestitate to contact them if you;re affected by this condition… And in Northern Ireland you can find the right contact through the Northern Ireland Cancer Network… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and …
