{"id":383408,"date":"2026-04-05T16:15:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T16:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/383408\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T16:15:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T16:15:11","slug":"brave-meath-mum-battling-rare-form-of-cancer-to-undergo-life-saving-surgery-as-fundraiser-tops-e800k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/383408\/","title":{"rendered":"Brave Meath mum battling rare form of cancer to undergo life-saving surgery as fundraiser tops \u20ac800k"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sharon Ball, 38, from Meath was diagnosed with stage 4 skull-based osteosarcoma in October<\/p>\n

Sharon Ball, 38 <\/p>\n

A young mum-of-three from Co Meath<\/a> is set to undergo life-saving brain surgery in New York next week after an extraordinary fundraising campaign<\/a> surpassed expectations.<\/p>\n

38-year-old Sharon Ball<\/a>, from Bohermeen, was diagnosed with stage 4 skull-based osteosarcoma last October, and has since undergone chemotherapy which was unsuccessful.<\/p>\n

Sharon\u2019s form of bone cancer is extremely rare, and that it\u2019s believed there are potentially around 200 undiagnosed cases across the world.<\/p>\n

The primary school teacher and mother-of-three received her diagnosis in October and underwent rounds of chemotherapy, which unfortunately proved ineffective.<\/p>\n

However, in a recent update posted to her GoFundMe page, Sharon expressed that her heart is ‘filled with gratitude’ as she prepares to undergo specialised surgery in New York.<\/p>\n

\"Sharon<\/p>\n

Sharon Ball from Meath(Image: GoFundMe)<\/p>\n

She and her husband Dermot travelled to New York this week<\/a> to begin consultations ahead of the vital life-saving surgery.<\/p>\n

In an update shared on Good Friday, Sharon announced that after meeting with doctors, she\u2019s been accepted for surgery and she will undergo the procedure on Monday.<\/p>\n

“Surgery is booked for Monday, 6th, and my heart is filled with gratitude. Thank you to everyone who has donated, encouraged and helped make this possible. Your generosity, kindness, prayers and love truly mean more than words can ever say,” she said.<\/p>\n

Sharon also uploaded a photograph of herself outside the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York, which ranks amongst the best hospitals for cancer treatment in the US, reports RSVP Live<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The couple expect to remain in the States for several months, as Sharon will need additional treatment after the initial procedure, along with recovery time near the hospital.<\/p>\n

\"Sharon<\/p>\n

Sharon Ball and her family(Image: GoFundMe)<\/p>\n

Sharon is a dedicated mother to her three little ones, Jack (6), Louis (4) and Sophie (9 months), and states she is determined to do ‘everything she can’ to be present to watch her children grow up.<\/p>\n

Sharon’s loved ones have been desperately working to secure the funds required for her life-saving operation, and thanks to nearly 18,000 generous donors, they have smashed their initial \u20ac650k fundraising target within days, with the total now standing at an incredible \u20ac800,000.<\/p>\n

The GoFundMe page was established last week by Sharon’s sister-in-law, Catriona O’Brien, who has appealed to the public to keep the young woman in their thoughts and prayers.<\/p>\n

\"Sharon<\/p>\n

Sharon outside the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York(Image: GoFundMe)<\/p>\n

Her close friend, Gear\u00f3id Rennicks, told the Irish Mirror that the donations have, \u201cblown everyone away\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cEveryone getting involved has given us a massive lift.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very hard to get your head around, and to think this money has been raised in such a short period of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all incredibly thankful to absolutely everyone who\u2019s donated, it\u2019s really shown the power of people when they come together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout the journey, Gear\u00f3id has said Sharon has remained positive despite facing many lows and she is determined to do everything she can to be there to watch her three children grow up.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou hear that these journeys come with highs and lows, but to be honest there hasn\u2019t been many highs for Sharon,” Gear\u00f3id told the Irish Mirror.<\/p>\n

\"Sharon<\/p>\n

Sharon Ball and her family(Image: GoFundMe)<\/p>\n

“The chemo didn\u2019t work, and she was told that the tumour wasn\u2019t operable.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now this is a big opportunity. She hasn\u2019t sat and felt sorry for herself, she\u2019s been looking for solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been saying Sharon’s not looking to run a marathon, she wants to see her nine-month-old take their first steps, and to see all of her kids grow up.\u201d<\/p>\n

To donate to Sharon\u2019s cause, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Want to see more from the Irish Mirror? Making us your preferred source on Google<\/a> means you\u2019ll get more of our exclusive top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Irish Mirror as a preferred source, simply click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sharon Ball, 38, from Meath was diagnosed with stage 4 skull-based osteosarcoma in October Sharon Ball, 38 A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":383409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[258,34646,61,60,15949,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-383408","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-cancer","9":"tag-gofundme","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-meath","13":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}