Sheyla is a breast cancer survivor
Sheyla, 68 from Limerick, is a breast cancer survivor. She remembers to the minute when she found out she had breast cancer.
“It was 11.08am on September 2, 2013. That's the time my life turned upside down.”
Sheyla had a bruise on her breast at the time of her routine mammogram with BreastCheck, and tests revealed the cancer. She had a mastectomy, followed by chemo and radiotherapy in UHL.
“I wake up with a grateful heart every day and appreciate how lucky I am. I have huge praise for the HSE, I was dealt with very quickly and efficiently from diagnosis to surgeries. It was really tough going through it all, especially the chemo, but the personal care I received from staff, from advice on diet and exercise to personal and health issues which arose during treatment, were excellent.”
Sheyla is now helping other cancer patients as a Volunteer Driver with the Irish Cancer Society, driving patients to and from their chemotherapy treatments.
“When I was undergoing treatment my wonderful husband dropped everything for me, I had great family and friends and I was living 15 minutes from the hospital. All of that made it easy for me but I became aware of patients who stayed in hotels the night before because there was no transport from their home to get them in time to the hospital for their appointments.
"I could only imagine the horror of it, at a time when you are feeling at your lowest and most vulnerable.
"I befriended an elderly woman who could literally see the hospital in the distance from her house but had to get two buses to get to the hospital. It took her an hour, or two if she missed the connection. We arranged for her sessions to take place around the same time as mine and I picked her up for her last week treatment. It was an eight minute drive from her home to the hospital. It was such a simple thing, but it made such a major difference to her. Earlier this year I heard about the Volunteer Driver Service and got involved straight away."
The Irish Cancer Society would like to thank Sheyla for sharing her story and for the time she donates as a volunteer driver. Last year, volunteer drivers like Sheyla clocked up 1,119,170 km as they provided 11,538 journeys for 1,162 patients. There are now over 1,000 volunteer drivers supporting the service. Learn more about our volunteer driver service.
Meet more breast cancer survivors:
Read about the work being done by Irish Cancer Society breast cancer researchers.
More information about breast cancer:
- Learn about breast cancer risk factors and how to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.
- What is advanced breast cancer?
- Signs and symptoms of breast cancer.
Chat with other people affected by breast cancer in our online community.
