Grainne had only been married for one week when she was diagnosed with B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in May 2021. She is sharing how cancer impacted on her life and the lives of her husband and their 5 children.

We are a family of seven living just outside Newry. We have three boys, Brodie, Shane and Declan and 2 daughters Bronagh and Anna.

I was diagnosed with cancer during Covid and my children’s lives changed dramatically. Before this I was a full time mum with a very organised routine and my children had never really been without me. My youngest was only 18 months old. Because of Covid they couldn’t visit me during treatment and it meant that their anxiety was at an all time high and their moods were at an all time low.

Cancer Fund for Children gave them the support they desperately needed, providing them with fun days to make life a little easier and allowing them to just be children in the madness of it all.

We also had two stays in Daisy Lodge, one in Autumn and one in Spring. I can’t event begin to explain how incredible Daisy Lodge is, everything is on hand and available and nothing is too big or too small for the staff to help with. It gave our family time to reconnect and shut off from the everyday busyness of life. We could talk to other families who understand and it helped us feel less alone in our experience.

Cancer Fund for Children gave our children and our family time to reconnect and helped our kids build confidence so now they can share the support they received and use what they have learned to help others.

To anyone going through this experience, I would say that cancer is not the end. You have the choice to keep going and there are so many people who will be there to support you through every step. Cancer is only a chapter; you still have to write your book.