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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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Gillian is ‘hugely into fitness’ – which is how she knew something was wrong the first time around<\/p>\n
Gillian admitted that she “wasn’t incredibly comfortable” with the idea of a fundraiser, despite having raised \u20ac20,000 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.”<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“Lung cancer is affecting more and more non-smoking women under the age of 50, and we don’t know why.”<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n