Following Rachel’s  routine school eye and ear screening, the public health nurse referred her for an ophthalmology appointment for glasses. Geraldine speaks of her shock at learning that Rachel didn’t need glasses, but had cancer.

“There was no big concern or worry, just that Rachel was a little hard of seeing in one eye. She had no symptoms at all, and looking at her eyes she looked no different to her two siblings. When we went in for her eye checkup, they put drops in her eyes, it was then they saw a growth at the back of her eye.

“The doctor told me there and then that she didn’t like what she saw and knew it was cancer. It was a like a bus had hit me. There was no biopsy or tests, they referred us to go to Temple St the next day. It was a huge blow, there was no build up. One day we went to get Rachel’s eyes checked for glasses and the next day we were in Temple Street to discuss her cancer treatment.

Unfortunately, due to the rareness of retinoblastoma, treatment is not available in Ireland. So Geraldine and Rachel had to travel to the UK for specialist treatment, which included intra-arterial chemotherapy- a pioneering type of chemotherapy administered under general anesthetic.

“Then the next bombshell hit, we would have to travel to Birmingham for treatment. We were told to go home and make sure our passports were in date. We travelled to Birmingham five days later and the team there decided they would take Rachel on as a patient and a plan was put in place.”

On Halloween 2022, Rachel had her first session of intra – arterial chemotherapy. She spent a few days in Birmingham Children’s hospital after this chemo and thankfully after her second dose, doctors saw an 80% shrinkage in her tumour.  She then began intravitreal chemotherapy, which is injected directly into the eye.

 This treatment was given once weekly for three weeks, so over the Christmas period Rachel and Geraldine travelled from Dowra in Co. Cavan to Birmingham for treatment. 

Geraldine says:
“Even though it’s Christmas they don’t stop the show. We were going back and forth and flying back in on Christmas eve. It was hard and your worried you won’t get back in time for Christmas. But we made the most of it.”

Thankfully Rachel was never sick from her treatment and has adapted to it well.  On 30th January Rachel began laser treatment, which she will continue to have over the coming months. Her team are really happy with her progress.

Geraldine says she is glad that the word cancer means nothing to Rachel.
“She is only six now, we just told her she has a sore eye and that we needed to make it better. Thankfully she hasn’t had any major trauma, and has adapted well.”

Another small relief for Rachel’s family is that they discovered her cancer is not genetic, meaning its more treatable and less likely to develop into other cancers.
Geraldine is hugely grateful for the great support she received from the Irish Cancer Society Support Line, particularly in the days after Rachel’s diagnosis. 

“It was just great to talk to someone that knows what you’re taking about. It was such a shock and now that things have settled it really has hit me now like a ton of bricks.”

Over the last few weeks, Geraldine has considered contacting the Irish Cancer Society Support Line again to avail of the free counselling service available anyone affected by cancer. 

The McGovern family also received the Irish Cancer Society Children’s Fund to help with the financial burden a cancer diagnosis brings. 

“It was a huge help, my husband Noel is a farmer, so he had to employ someone else to look after the farm while he took care of their other two children, Róisín and Kevin as Geraldine travelled to and from Birmingham for Rachel’s treatment. We also had to travel up and down to Dublin for appointments, all the costs add up.” 

Geraldine is really keen to highlights the importance of public health nurse checks and school health screenings. She encourages all parents with any doubts or concerns about their children’s health to go get it checked out.