I told the family that Brenda Donohue from RTÉ Radio 1 CountryWide would be visiting. They all turned out like troopers to give Brenda the true essence of our tribe.
For the first time, my three grandchildren were in the one place. Ricky came with Julie from west Cork. Peter was around the living room with a dustpan and brush. And baby Katie, just five weeks old, made her presence known when she realised it was feeding time.
There was lots of chat as Brenda became like a member of the family, cuddling Katie close and being immersed in the O’Leary hospitality for a few hours. The faithful shepherd’s pie was on the menu along with one of Tim’s tasty salads.
The backstory
Brenda did an interview with me last spring in the calf shed. I was exuberant and happy. I was cancer-free following surgery and rigorous chemotherapy.
Two months later, despite feeling really well, it was back across my lungs. We were now in new territory that is called maintenance treatment. It is chemotherapy but not as severe as the previous time. Trabectedin is the name of the drug. I did cry for a month and then decided that it was no way to live.
Positivity is the name of the game. I have done 10 rounds of this chemo since. When I met Brenda at the Women & Agriculture conference in October, I said to her “come again in the spring to the calf shed and we’ll have a new chat”.
She said that she would and true to her word, early in February, she made contact. I put her off as we didn’t have enough calves in the shed. But at the end of February, things had changed drastically and the shed was full. We made a date. Brenda arrived to the shed. I have to say, it was quite emotional at first but I quickly re-focused. There is no point in going back.
Everyone has a “before that happened” story. There is also no point in imagining the future. Live for today. Avoid going down rabbit holes with negative thoughts. Stay above ground.
Brenda, asked Ricky about rearing the calves. His first comment was “we feed them so they won’t die”. Afterwards, Julie asked me “Mum, did you hear what Ricky said?”
Of course I did and I knew I was completely responsible. Ricky is inquisitive. “Why do we give the calves milk Granny? Why do we give them Calfage and so on?” My stock answer is “if we don’t feed them they will die”. And I got it back on the radio. Listen back to Ricky. He is a tonic. It was aired on 1 March 2025.
What I would really like people to take from that interview is a message of hope. Just because you have had a bad scan does not mean that you will never have a good scan again.
This time last year we were devastated with the news that the cancer was back. That has not changed but the treatment has pushed back the cancer so that there are no visible nodules across my lungs now. My liver CK levels continue to be high.
The message of hope
My consultant, Deirdre O’Mahony has advised a two-month break from chemotherapy to allow my body to recover. I will be scanned again in early May and if that scan remains the same, I may get a longer break. If not, I will be back on a treatment that we know it works. I’m looking forward to doing a lot of nice things over the next few months.
Take heart if you are in a similar position, grab every opportunity. Your friends and family want to support you. Stop overthinking things. Why be miserable if you can be happy?
Listen to Katherine’s interview on Countrywide on 1 March on the RTÉ Radio app
SHARING OPTIONS