Fit and active Cork mum facing second lung cancer operation

Gillian Ryan, a non-smoker and fitness enthusiast, had just turned 40 when she underwent major surgery to remove part of her lung – and now she faces an even bigger operation after a second cancerous growth was discovered on recent scans.

It’s been almost five years since West Cork native Gillian was first diagnosed with lung cancer on her 40th birthday in November 2021. Lung cancer is often diagnosed late into the disease’s progression – and Gillian believes she only noticed the symptoms early thanks to her interest in fitness and health.

But today, with part of her right lung removed in a lobectomy, Gillian told CorkBeo that even walking up stairs is a challenge. Within weeks, even more of her lung will be taken out, along with part of her airway, to tackle a “growing nodule” that wasn’t spotted during early scans, as often happens with these complex and unpredictable cancers.

Since her first diagnosis in 2021, Gillian has worked tirelessly to advocate for sufferers of lung cancer, travelling the world and even meeting the Minister for Health to argue for a public screening program. But in April 2024, the unexpected discovery of another growth took its emotional toll on the mother of two.

“I went through all the emotions,” Gillian explained to CorkBeo. “I was flabbergasted. I could see that something was wrong. A nodule had been missed.”

Gillian’s upcoming surgery will take place at the end of September in Dublin. Her sister Dawn has launched a GoFundMe to help pay for accommodation for Gillian’s family, who will need to stay nearby in the capital as Gillian recovers for a second time.

Gillian is ‘hugely into fitness’ – which is how she knew something was wrong the first time around

Gillian admitted that she “wasn’t incredibly comfortable” with the idea of a fundraiser, despite having raised €20,000 for various charities herself: “There’s a sense of vulnerability, but people’s generosity is overwhelming. And all the messages of support – that’s what I’ll take into surgery with me.”

Gillian decided to seek cancer care at St James’s Hospital in Dublin. The journey since November 2021 has also been “very hard” for Gillian’s partner and two children: “They’re scared and worried. I’m supposed to be around forever.”

She added: “I don’t have the stereotypical profile for lung cancer. It’s often spotted late, as symptoms don’t become obvious until later – I only noticed that I had any breathlessness because I was hugely into fitness. But as well as losing part of my lung, the disease has taken that part of my life from me as well.”

However, that hasn’t stopped Gillian from actively advocating for cancer sufferers. When Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD took up her post as Minister for Health last year, Gillian got in touch – and the Minister came down to Cork to meet with her and discuss the argument for lung cancer screening.

In Ireland, there is currently no public screening service for lung cancer – even though the disease claims 2,000 lives a year, making it the deadliest cancer in the country. Gillian has praised the cervical cancer screening service, but also notes that cervical cancer kills fewer people – around 80 every year.

“Lung cancer is affecting more and more non-smoking women under the age of 50, and we don’t know why.”

As well as expert surgeons and radiologists, Gillian’s own self-reliance has seen her through some of the worst of her experience with the disease. “You have to advocate for your own life.”

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