A weekly insight into the people and places that make Inishowen great

PeoplePeopleeninsulaeninsulaVol 1 - Issue 9

10 October 2014

1-95(Stg £1-60)

Siubhanis aGlobalRelayFor LifeHero ofHope!

Siubhanis aGlobalRelayFor LifeHero ofHope!

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In June 2001, Siubhan Gillespieheard the three words thatevery human being dreads –you’ve got cancer. Ten dayslater, Siubhan had aLumpectomy. Within twomonths she visited her localbank manager, annoyed thatsomeone was questioning herapplication for a mortgage.And now, she is wondering whyshe has been selected as aGlobal Relay For Life Hero ofHope.

It probably wasn’t unusual, or indeedimproper, for the bank official to raisean eyebrow on going through Siubhan’sapplication and being cautious withtheir decision. But Siubhan and hermother Mary were living in the originalGillespie homestead inNewtowncunningham which requireddemolition and rebuilding, and no-onewas going to tell her that because ofwhat she had experienced in theprevious couple of months, her andher mum would be deprived ofhaving a new home. Siubhan believes,and has done so from day one, thatshe has not been sick. She toldeveryone “I got rid of the dirt and Iam taking medicine”. The ‘C’ word israrely used.Siubhan will admit that having receivedan early diagnosis worked in her favor.In 2001, cancer services in Donegalwere very limited and after receiving amammogram and a magnifiedmammogram nothing was detected.Referred to Derry’s AltnagelvinHospital for a specialized ultrasoundexamination, Siubhan was unconcernedas 9 out of 10 women who have thisexamination walk out the door againwithout the need for any furtherinvestigation. But as she saw the ladieswho were examined after her pass byto go home, she didn’t think anything ofit as they were ‘locals’. After 50 minuteswaiting, she was asked back in to seethe doctor and he delivered thosethree words. Siubhan will always advisepeople to take a second pair of earswith them to such examinationsbecause if you are unlucky to have tohear those three words, you hear

absolutely nothing else after them. Onleaving the hospital, being Siubhan, heronly concern was about telling hermother. Things moved quickly andwithin 10 days, Siubhan had her surgeryand, again being Siubhan, she wanted toknow when she could return to heremployment with the VEC. After beingtold that stress can have a counterproductive affect on her treatment, shedecided to switch off and let things taketheir course. Siubhan returned to work22 months later after chemotherapy

and radiotherapy and requiring furthersurgery in 2002, which thankfully wasnot as invasive or serious as the firsttime.At this point in her life, Siubhan had 18nieces and was very conscious that thiswas a subject that had to be talkedabout and an awareness created, butalso that it was something that couldbe challenged.

With the support of a large familycircle (who she had to constantly tell “Iam NOT SICK”) Siubhan settled backinto life, rebuilt the family home and gotback to work. Did she wear a wig?

Siubhan explained, “I went and gotfitted out, looked really well, an exactmatch, brought it home, wore it for tenminutes, took it off and put it away.Nothing wrong with the wig in any way,it and I just didn’t agree”. “So it was justme and my silk scarves or wee red hatfrom then on, ” she said.Not making a conscious decision to doso, Siubhan would quietly and discreetlylisten to and offer advice to anyonewho needed it. Someone who wouldknow someone else would want to talkto her and be listened to by the personwho has made the journey.

Fast track to 2010. Siubhan‘s brotherBrian was involved in running a StrictlyCome Dancing fundraising event forScoil Colmcille inNewtowncunningham. Involunteering at the event, Siubhanbefriended a fellow ‘survivor’ fromwest Donegal who had moved tothe village in recent years, EnaBarrett. Ena had been tellingSiubhan about this greatfundraising charity whichoriginated in America and wasnow operating in Ireland calledRelay For Life.Siubhan, Ena, Brian and two otherfriends set off to a Relay For Life

event in Dundalk to investigate thischarity.

Each year, more than 4 million peoplein over 32 countries raise much-neededfunds and awareness to save lives fromcancer through the Relay For Lifemovement. During a Relay event,participants and survivors celebratewhat they've overcome. Theyremember people lost to the disease,and celebrate the lives of people whohave fought or are fighting cancer. Theevent inspires Relay participants to takeaction against a disease that has takentoo much. The organizers arrange for asmany teams as possible to gathertogether at a venue for a 24 hourperiod and do just that while raisingthose much needed funds for theCancer Society.Stepping into the unknown, a turningpoint for Siubhan was when she andEna were handed the purple ‘Survivor’Tee shirt on arrival at the Dundalk

Siubhan GillespieA woman who inspires hope, courage and

determination to fight and eliminate cancer

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event. She said, “I don’t’ know whatexactly it was but I got very emotional.It was probably the realization that,along with all these people around me,how lucky I was.” It was afterwitnessing the event in Dundalk thatEna decided that Donegal needed anevent of its own. Anyone who knowsEna will agree that she perfects the artof gentle persuasion, and before long,people were gathering and the DonegalRelay For Life Committee was born.Groups were set up all over Donegaland the inaugural Relay For Life Eventwas set for the end of May 2012. Onthat beautiful sunny weekend, 72 teamshad formed and enrolled for the 24hour spectacular at the playing fields ofthe LYIT in Letterkenny. Amidst all theside events, fun, laughter, tears, and ofcourse walking and walking andwalking….. there were two verypoignant moments. At the beginning,when all the ‘survivors’ proudly paradedaround the track to the cheers andadmiration of all that surrounded them.The second moment was when duskfell and the hundreds of candles sittingin the centre of the park, each bearingthe name of a loved one who had lostthe battle, were lit. Prayers were said,songs were sung and tears were shed.Where was Siubhan? Well, after takingpart in the ‘Survivors’ parade, shereturned to her team’s stall to providetea and coffee all night for those whostayed in vast numbers to walk thewalk. And of course this was noordinary tea stall, this was ‘CentralPerk’ for Friends and Family. Relay ForLife in Donegal had certainly got underway and as a result, over 300,000 wascollected for the Irish Cancer Society.In 2013, Siubhan was asked to join thecommittee, which she gladly did andanother very successful event was held

and likewise in 2014.Following this year’s event, theChairman of the Donegal Relay ForLife, Robert O’Connor, put Siubhanforward for the ‘Irish Hero of Hope’award which she joyfully accepted atthe Aviva Stadium in Dublin recently.The award was given to her in gratefulappreciation of her work, passion andsupport in fighting cancer throughRelay for Life and the Irish CancerSociety.The Presentation Night for Relay ForLife Donegal on Saturday 27thSeptember, unknowing to Siubhan,while publically presenting her IrishAward to the gathering of teamrepresentatives and volunteers, wordhad just come through mid afternoonof an even greater award – a GlobalRelay For Life Hero of Hope. Hot offthe press, the announcement had justfiltered through from the InternationalRelay for Life conference.On being told of the award, Siubhan

received official notification whichpartly read:Congratulations on being selected as aGlobal Relay For Life Hero of Hope!Cancer survivors like you inspire hope,courage and determination to fight andeliminate cancer. You are a beacon ofhope to all other cancer patients andsurvivors in your country. As a voiceand ambassador of your cancerorganization, you have the power toincrease awareness of your country’scancer organization, its mission and togrow Relay For Life participation. Yourrole is so important in leading othersurvivors to step up and make adifference in this fight against cancer.You have the power to save lives bysharing your story and demonstratingmany ways to fight back. On behalf ofthe Global Relay For Life, welcome to anetwork of Heroes of Hopedetermined to make a difference insaving lives by sharing their story andleading the fight against cancer. We aregrateful for your volunteer efforts andsupport of your country’s cancerorganization. Volunteers like you canmake a difference. Volunteers like youwill give those in their cancer journeythe opportunity to celebrate morebirthdays.Siubhan says that she humbly acceptsthe awards on behalf of all doctors andmedical staff who help patients, butmost of all, on behalf of all those peoplewho hear those three words – You’veGot Cancer!

Why did Siubhan receive these awards?Because she does exactly what it sayson the tin! She inspires hope, courageand determination to beat cancer.Ask her Bank Manager.

The Relay for Life Committee presenting over 150,00.00 to the IrishCancer Society which was raised at the Relay For Life Pic: Clive Wasson

Siubhan receives her Irish Hero Of Hope award at the Aviva Stadium recently. From left -Matt Lewis (Irish Cancer Society Relay For Life Co-ordinator), Yvonne Jones(Carlow),Noelle Clancy (Tipperary) and Donald Buggy (Irish Cancer Society Head ofServices).

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