Mark is a GAA sports-mad, Wexford man constantly on the move. At least he was, until he received some shocking news in 2022 that left him utterly stunned. Lingering headaches, shivers and fatigue led him to seek answers, answers he was not expecting.
“I started getting pains in my head after intense training sessions. It got to a stage where the pain in my head started to linger into the next day and I thought, Something’s not right here. So, I rang my GP.
“A week later, at first glance, my GP said I looked a bit chesty. He gave me steroids, took two samples of blood and said I’d be grand in about a week or two. So, I skipped into work with not a bother.
“About two days later, I got a phone call from my GP’s office. I needed to go to the Mater Hospital for a bone marrow test. It probably wasn’t anything that serious, though I was told I should bring a bag with me just in case. I was just delighted that something showed up in my test results. I would finally have an answer for these headaches. All I had to do was figure out how to get to the Mater, because I honestly hadn’t a clue where it was.
“I got the bus in from Trim, where I lived at the time and made my way to the seventh floor in the Mater. The nurse told me it might be no harm to ring someone and tell them to come up, as I had come in alone. I thought I’d be in an out in no time. I was still oblivious to everything.
“Two hours later, I was sitting in a private room when the nurse and consultant said, ‘We have bad news.’
“I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. It is a type of blood cancer found in bone marrow from white blood cells.
“I wasn’t going home. I had cancer.
“I felt like I was dreaming. I didn’t know what was going on. In that moment, I just couldn’t comprehend it. I wasn’t going to be able to play sports anymore. I may never be able to work again.
“What struck me even more was that I might not be able to have kids. I’d have to freeze my sperm before I started treatment. That was nearly worse.
“I thought I was only going up to Dublin for a quick check-up and then I was getting admitted and starting chemo straight away.
“I had never really been in hospital before and then I was stuck there. I couldn’t go to the pitch and play. I couldn’t even go to the shop. The normality of my life suddenly stopped.
“The diagnosis was really tough on my family. It really hit me when my Ma, Da and brothers came up from Wexford to see me. It was like a bomb had gone off.
“My brother’s wedding was the same year I got diagnosed and I had planned the stag. I couldn’t go on the trip. I was only able to get out for a couple of hours to attend the wedding.
“For months, I couldn’t go out because of the risk of getting an infection. When my white blood cell counts were too low, all I could do was lie there and wait for them to come up, day after day. I felt locked up. I’d ask myself, ‘Is this ever going to end? Will I ever be able to go back to normal?’
“But life moves on. It was 2022 when I got diagnosed and I had eleven months of a tough battle. It was raw enough to be honest, looking back on it. Seeing me today, compared to when I was going through treatment, you’d be shocked at the change. My physical appearance, playing sports again…I’m really back to 100%.
“And my family… I now have a daughter, Isla. We’ll be celebrating her first birthday in October thanks to the efforts from the Mater Hospital staff. They put protocols in place for me and made sure that I had the best possible chance of having children when I came out the other side.
“I went in for a check-up recently, and everything is fine. It’s a chapter of my life that I was lucky to get through. I feel lucky to be able to come back from work, put on a pair of shorts and football boots and run around on the field.
“Playing sport is a big outlet for me. I wasn’t going to let my diagnosis stop me from living my life. It took a little while to build my stamina and strength back up, but I wasn’t going to just sit around because of it. That was my mantra from day one. This is crap, but it’s not going to define who I am. The anger I felt at my diagnosis gave me the determination to beat the cancer.
“As someone said to me, ‘Sometimes you’re just going to have to swim through the muddy water.’ There are days that will be tough, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. You have to stay strong, keep your mind active, and try and think as positive as you can.
“Trust the staff and trust your support network. You will be alright. The Mater Hospital saved my life. The consultants and all the team are absolutely amazing. Stick with the treatment. I know at times it’s not easy and you want to throw in the towel… I definitely felt like that sometimes. But you just have to keep going.
“Take every day as it comes. Take every day and then every week and then take every month. And then hopefully you’ll get through it, and you’ll be alright.”
Mark, Co Meath
You can support patients like Mark this November by taking part in the Dickie Dip. Sign up today to support men’s cancer care in the Mater Hospital.