A Mother's Second Chance: Journey to Recovery

A Northern Ireland mum says she feels very lucky to have a second chance at life after being diagnosed with a one in a million rare cancer.

The Diagnosis

Back in late October 2023, mum-of-two Brenda Kernoghan developed what she initially thought was a tummy bug. Her subsequent road from diagnosis to recovery led to her undergoing what's referred to as “the mother of all surgeries”, during which some of her organs were removed and heated chemotherapy applied directly inside her abdomen.

The Treatment

At 9 o'clock the following morning Brenda had the surgery and her appendix removed. She stayed in hospital for five days due to a suspected infection which meant she wasn't allowed home.

The Journey to Healing

Eight weeks after she left hospital Brenda was contacted and told that pathologists in Antrim Area Hospital had discovered a cancerous tumour in her appendix.

Facing the Challenge

Brenda was faced with having to undergo extensive cancer preventive surgery, known as cytoreductive surgery, and HIPEC chemotherapy, which is not available in Northern Ireland. She had to travel to the Peritoneal Malignancy Institute at Basingstoke Hospital, which specialises in the surgical treatment of patients with tumours and cancer that has spread to the peritoneum.

The Road to Recovery

She added: "When somebody actually says to you, 'you have cancer' it was all such a big shock because I had never felt this good in my life. Over the coming months, I kept asking the surgeon if this is absolutely necessary and do