Connacht Tribune
Galway mum recovers from her ‘perfect storm’
It was a savagely perfect storm in already turbulent waters for Helen Flynn when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
She had been due to go to the GP for an appointment to check her right breast, which had a strange full feeling for a time. She was also suffering from chronic fatigue – but she put this down to her being a single mom to two sons with autism.
Stress was also a major factor. Helen was really struggling in her personal life. A merchandiser for Anthony Ryan’s Department Store and then Debenhams, she was a survivor of domestic violence and had been living in a refuge before battling to secure a more permanent home for herself and her children.
They moved from guesthouse to guesthouse, which her sons found particularly challenging as they could not cope with the lack of routine and consistency.
And then Covid hit.
“Two days prior to my appointment Leo [Varadkar] came on the steps in Washington and advised us to do our bit not to overwhelm the health services. I cancelled the appointment – I didn’t want to feel embarrassed about wasting a doctor’s time. I didn’t observe a lump, just fullness, so I thought I’d just keep on eye on it.”
By October 2020 when there was a temporary easing of restrictions, she saw her doctor for the same complaint. The GP immediately found two tumours and referred her for a biopsy. Within two days she underwent a biopsy, which revealed she had HER2 triple-negative breast cancer. She was 44.
“It was very fast-paced. Within two days I was on the chemotherapy journey. Mine was the fastest-growing breast cancer, protein-based rather than hormone-based, so I’ll always live the regret of not going in March. It had spread to my lymph nodes so now I have to live with lymphedema (swelling). Early intervention really is the key.”
As well as the trauma of the diagnosis and the treatment, she had the added stress of trying to care for her children without family back-up. Helen grew up in an orphanage in Kerry, moving to study art in Galway when she was 17.
“I wrote to [family and children agency] Tusla telling them how I was brought up in an orphanage. I had no family network. I was homeless. I got the back-up of principals – people in COPE Galway, the refuge, my oncologist, everyone. I needed to get them into a foster family. But they said no, not during this time. They told me to reach out to family.”
Helen remembers arriving for one of her hospital appointments with her two kids in tow. At this stage she was in a motorised wheelchair – “donated by a secret Santa not the HSE” – unable to move her legs or arms after an allergic reaction to the chemotherapy.
“It was a catastrophic time. I was the carer of two autistic boys. There was no Plan B. I had my rejection letter from Tusla with me. This is what I was trying to avoid by going to Tusla. They put us in an isolated room, and I spent eight hours with no access to water. I was in agony. My bladder had a reaction to the meds. I was howling to the moon.”
She reluctantly reached out for support.
“Because I carried so much uncomfortable trauma, it doesn’t make for polite conversation to talk about being in an orphanage, working in a laundry, domestic violence, rape, coercion, so I kept a lot of things private in my life,” she reflects.
“I always say cancer was the one socially acceptable trauma we endured. It did give me permission to say why this was particularly challenging to us. It actually made me do the most challenging thing – open up and let people in to help us. A lot of these people were there already, I just didn’t let them in. I have a fabulous network of friends and community who give us a tremendous amount of support.
“That’s the one good thing about cancer – provided it stays outside the door from now on.”
After chemo, surgery and multiple hepatic infusions, she officially finished treatment last January. But her oncology team will be monitoring her closely. Her mother died of the same cancer.
Thankfully, the stress of being homeless has also dissipated. She moved into a ‘forever home’ in Roscam provided by Galway City Council.
Through the storm…Helen Flynn today.
“We’re in a very different place from the rollercoaster we were on good heavens,” she beams.
“After my tremendously traumatic childhood, I was hyper-vigilant and aware that we would remain in the eye of the storm and that my children would be quite oblivious to the bigger picture of trauma.
“They’re solid, centred. They have an awful lot of achievements. They’re gifted in programming and coding. They’re very resilient. Considering how bad we look on paper, there’s no drinking, no smoking, no blackguarding. We just got unlucky in life. We never invited any of it in.”
Helen urges woman, and in particular carers, to heed any warning signs in their bodies, which can often be ignored due to exhaustion and stress.
She looks forward to the next chapter of their lives.
Her eldest, now twelve, is about to start secondary school. Both have thrived in an ASD unit of a mainstream city school.
“This isn’t going to define us. I’m determined to change the trajectory. There’s a lot of hope, a lot of exciting things to look forward to,” she exclaims happily.
“My children will always need a certain amount of care. It’s important I stay around to give them a greater chance of being independent.”
As part of Breast Cancer Awareness month this October, the Irish Cancer Society is asking you to ‘Care For Your Pair’ by being breast aware, checking your breasts regularly and encouraging others to do the same. Always speak to your GP if you notice anything unusual.
To support vital breast cancer research and free care, counselling and transport for breast cancer patients, host a Big Pink Breakfast for your friends, family and colleagues. Visit: www.cancer.ie/careforyourpair to find out more
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
