Cancer survivors share their inspiring journeys

A CANCER survivor from Dublin 15 has come up with an inspringing way to help others come to terms with a diagnosis. A total of 160 people in Dublin are diagnosed with cancer every week, while cancer rates have risen by four per cent over the past three years.

The Lazarus Community Forum is the brainchild of former Air Corps Commandant, Frank Russell from Blanchardstown, and it’s designed to help patients cope with their treatment, their recovery process and the initial shock of learning they have cancer.

Frank, a retired Inspector of Air Accidents, was diagnosed and treated for cancer twice, firstly In 1998 when he was told he had neck cancer.

“Being diagnosed with a cancer is literally an unforgettable event in one’s life,

? he says.

“I was the first of my extended family to be diagnosed with cancer and, and it’s true to recall that nobody seemed to know what to do or to say at the time, me included!

“There was an unspoken acceptance that I was in deep trouble, and this was reflected in the many hushed phone calls I received from family, friends and relations, Masses said and some odd encouragements offered.

?

Frank embarked on a whirlwind of hospital tests, scans, biopsies, x-rays and radiotherapy but at the end of the process he was told he’d be lucky to last two years.

“As I absorbed this information, I thought to myself

‘At least that’s better than two months and an awful lot better than two weeks’,

? Frank recalls.

“That comment rather concentrated my mind thereafter.

?

Frank returned to work and in 1999 he went to Lourdes on a Defence Forces Pilgrimage.

“I was somewhat sceptical but curiosity overcame this and my first experience there set the tone for my attitude to sickness that has remained with me ever since,

? he said.

“I was humbled by what I saw and heard there. So many people were worse off than me; I felt their hope and saw the compassion of their carers. I was hooked.

?

Frank survived his initial bout of cancer and shortly after his first Lourdes trip he met fellow UK based cancer patient, Ita Bourke who invited him and another patient, Karen Daly, to co-found the Lakelands Area Retreat & Cancer Centre (LARCC) in Ireland.

“Ita’s wish was to reach out to those recovering cancer patients who had little or no family or peer support in their lives, to avail of the psychological counselling and healing therapies that LARCC offers,

? says Frank.

“Sadly, Ita died just before the official opening by Brian Lenihan in late 2002, but her legacy lives on.

?

Five years after LARCC opened, Frank was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“That time round, I was psychologically better able to cope with my diagnosis, thanks to my family and friends and, also, my association with LARCC over the years.

?

Frank’s second cancer was successfully treated with brachytherapy and most recently he’s been putting his efforts into a new online forum for cancer patients, where they can share experiences.

“Telling their stories on the Lazarus Community Forum can be a powerful way for cancer patients to express their thoughts and feelings on their condition both for themselves and, importantly, for those more recent patients,

? he says.

“The idea for the Forum came from listening to cancer patients on social occasions during their stay on the LARCC Residential weeks. I heard some brave and uplifting stories and some sad ones too.

“My sincere hope is that the Forum will open doors otherwise shut to ordinary cancer patients, and empower them to express their thoughts and feelings on their condition both for themselves and, importantly, for those more recent patients.

?

The Forum can be found at cancersupport.ie, which is the website of Cancer Support Sanctuary LARCC.