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What am I doing?

Given that you've arrived at this page, you are most likely aware that I am doing 'Wedding Dress Wednesday' on Wednesday the 20th September. It's all about raising vital funds for cancer research and is in conjunction with Today FM and the Irish Cancer Society.

So why am I doing this?

Well there are lots of reasons. We all have a 'cancer story' unfortunately, here are three of mine:

Olive

A good friend Olive Harding (nee Garvey) passed away last November, after just short of a five year battle with this horrible disease. Olive was one of the DCU Accounting & Finance Class of 1997 and from the moment I met her in a queue for the DCU Bar in September 1994 I found her to be a bright, engaging, fun loving, generous, caring person. She was on top everything, a good person to get the lecture notes from if you happened to miss something, and more importantly always good to be around.

She joined PWC after graduation while some of us weren't still quite ready for the real world and stayed on for the Masters. We kept in touch. There were weddings and nights out and the years went by. Olive was one of the first of the group to marry and to have children. Being a mother was another thing she excelled at – she was devoted to her girls Aisling, Laoise and Amy and they were at the center of everything for her.

It was when she was pregnant with Amy that the shocking cancer diagnosis occurred – within days of finding out, Amy was born by induced labour and Olive began her treatment. She was brave at every step and for a while, everything appeared good and she got the all clear. Unfortunately, it was just a reprieve and the cancer came back, and again Olive fought so, so bravely but unfortunately the cancer won out in the end. Olive was a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a niece, an aunt, a cousin, a colleague and a friend to so many. She was too young to leave this world and we all dearly miss her.

Angela

Then there is my sister Angela, another amazing woman, always full of energy, enthusiasm, and eager to help others. She was diagnosed with Grade 3 breast cancer at the age of 42.

As the Baz Luhrmann song goes …

" Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.... The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind....   The kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. "

From memory the diagnosis came, out of the blue, around lunchtime some idle Tuesday....

She like Olive, bravely went through every kind of treatment recommended to her and I'm glad to say Angela is one of the lucky ones. She's over 8 years clear and I, together with so many others, am so thankful every day that she made it.

Roisín

Then there is the mum of a good friend who passed away in the last few weeks. Another brave lady who until her diagnosis last December was very well, very able, an active grandmother and a rock within her family. Again, she bravely went through all the various treatments and all seemed good in June when the test results looked clear. Unfortunately, the reprieve was very short lived and secondary discoveries were made a month later and again like Olive, the cancer was too strong. She too is very dearly missed.

Conclusion

So that's just three reasons as to why I am doing this and that's without even having to scratch the surface - there are more stories.... The problem is there are too many stories. We all have a cancer story / stories and that is not good.

My goal with Wedding Dress Wednesday is to get people thinking and hopefully to raise some funds which can go towards cancer research. Everything that helps is a positive. We need more research into cancer prevention, how to reduce the risk factors and into cancer treatment. Let's all do our bit. Please donate what you can.