Natasha's Bowel Cancer Story

Aged just 26, Natasha O’Byrne, a mother of two from Innishannon, Cork was diagnosed with bowel cancer in November 2024. “Cancer has been in my life for over 20 years. My grandmother had breast cancer and has been in remission thankfully the past two decades. We lost mam in 2020 to lung cancer. She passed away just six weeks after her diagnosis at the age of 46. Now, I find myself in my mid-20s living with bowel cancer. It’s very hard to take but you have to get on with it. I want to turn my cancer experience into something positive. I’m the third generation of my family to have cancer and I don’t want that same thing happening to my children. For that day to come when hopefully nobody gets cancer, organisations like the Irish Cancer Society need funding so they can invest more and more in cancer research. That’s why I decided to organise the ‘Concert for Cancer’ and I’m absolutely thrilled that Nathan Carter will be performing to raise vital funds for the Irish Cancer Society.”

Natasha’s own journey to her cancer diagnosis began in July 2024. “I had these severe pains in my chest. I’ve never had a heart attack, but I can only describe it as it felt like I was having one. I was very nauseous as well. I went to my GP and they told me it might be an ulcer or gallstones. I was put on Nexium and that helped for a few months. By October, I was in crippling pain again. It was so severe, I couldn’t walk. Over 2024, I was running a lot and it was probably the fittest and thinnest I’d been. In hindsight, unexplained weight loss is a symptom of bowel cancer, but for me, it wasn’t unexplained – it was because of my exercise and lifestyle. At least that’s what I thought.”

Following her crippling pain in October, Natasha was transferred by ambulance to Cork University Hospital. “They identified I had pancreatitis and I ended having a series of scans to determine what was going on. I was in hospital for two weeks. I think the first mention of the word ‘cancer’ was when the medical team wanted to investigate if I had lymphoma – a type of blood cancer – because I was so anemic. They also identified a number of polyps so they did a colonoscopy and a biopsy. On the 11th of November, I remember the exact date, I was back in and they told my bloods were clear and that it wasn’t lymphoma but that I did have bowel cancer.”

Receiving this news was incredibly difficult for Natasha. “It was shocking and really harrowing to be told that news, especially at my age. My family has been so impacted by cancer, it is truly devastating. It’s one of those things that is out of your hands. I never felt ‘why me’ – I suppose I’ve just had to get on with it. My first thoughts were straight to my children. Their quality of life and how do I make sure my treatment has as little affect as possible on them. They’re too young to fully understand but they know mummy is sick and that I’m taking medicine to try get better. Like myself, my family have been there through cancer and they have really rallied round to support me.”

For her treatment, Natasha is receiving chemotherapy and thankfully, her cancer has shrunk by 80%. “My treatment has gone well so far. I just really want to minimise the impact on my children and try give them as normal a childhood as possible. My medical team are brilliant and we just need to keep at the treatment.”

Natasha’s relationship with the Irish Cancer Society goes back to her nana’s diagnosis more than 20 years ago. “I just always remember the Irish Cancer Society being there. My nana and mam would have done women’s mini marathons over the years to raise money and the Daffodil in CUH was brilliant with offering support to my mam when she needed it during her short illness with lung cancer. That’s why when I decided I wanted to do the fundraiser, it was natural to do it for the Irish Cancer Society. I came up with the idea in April this year and within a few days, after making contact with a few people, we had a yes from the venue, amazing support from the Irish Cancer Society community fundraising team and a yes from Nathan Carter. We can’t thank him enough for his support for such an important cause. It’s going to be such a brilliant night and I just hope as many people as possible come along to help us raise vital funds.”