Corkwoman: Young, healthy, and a non-smoker, but I was told I had lung cancer

IT seems that 38-year-old Pam Morrison, from Youghal, has everything going for her.

The primary school teacher and yoga teacher lives in beautiful surroundings overlooking sweet Youghal Bay and is planning her marriage to her fiancé, Shane,

But she was given devastating news last November. She has lung cancer.

“After three weeks of all sorts of tests, the worst possible news was delivered - stage 4 lung cancer,” says Pam.

I’ll never fully be able to describe how that lands, and the difficulty moving forward after it, but somehow you do.

Pam even thinks she’s fortunate.

“In some ways I’m lucky, as it’s type EGFR, I get to use targeted therapy which I’ve responded well to, and I’ve been largely unaffected by side effects.”

Last year, Pam was suffering with a recurring cough.

“It came and went for months, but I fobbed it off as seasonal allergies or maybe something to do with Long Covid symptoms. As a healthy non-smoker in my 30s, I never would have dreamed of lung cancer. I had no clue.”

According to the American Lung Association, lung cancer diagnoses have risen a startling 84% among women over the past 42 years, while dropping 36% among men over the same period.

Pam decided to investigate the cause of her persistent cough around mid-August, but a locum doctor told her to go home, steam, gargle and take a cough bottle three times a day.

“I was doing this all along,” says Pam.

The cough got worse.

“I was developing awful pain in my ribs,” recalls Pam.

“I returned to the same doctor.”

However, she was given the same advice as before.

Pam was upset, she felt she wasn’t being taken seriously.

Finally, her own doctor did listen.

“When I finally saw him, I was experiencing breathlessness and chronic fatigue,” explains Pam.

“He seemed to take things more seriously and he sent me for an X-ray and tried me on various medications to see if anything would work.

“The X-ray showed up anomalies and I was referred to get a CT.

“Another wait and confusion with my files occurred,” says Pam.

She had to play a waiting game.

While I was waiting, my struggle to breathe and the exhaustion worsened. I also lost a stone in a month.

When blood spotting started, Pam was brought into the doctor’s clinic, who kept it open to see her.

“I saw his worry when he realised how much weight I had lost.

“He referred me to the Rapid Access Respiratory Clinic. Just days later I coughed up a lot of blood overnight. My doctor wasn’t available for four days.”

Did she consider going to A&E?

“It had been ingrained in me that A&E was for very serious cases like car accidents and heart attacks, or near- death situations, and in spite of all that was happening, I didn’t see myself in that category.”

When the blood continued to come up, Pam’s sister and her friend, both nurses, urged her to go to A&E immediately.

“They were quite forceful about telling me to go and I drove up on November 24, 2022, thinking it would may be an overnight stay and they’d find something like pneumonia, put me on antibiotics and send me home.”

Pam met kind and caring people in A&E.

“I will be forever grateful to the staff in the CUH and A&E,” says Pam.

“The first member of staff I came into contact with, the triage nurse, was so kind and compassionate.

“She was shocked at all I’d been through and said the words, ‘You’ve really been through so much’.”

Pam was moved by the experience.

“Just having someone take me seriously brought me to tears,” says Pam.

“From there, everyone was incredible. I was so cared for in spite of clear under-staffing and pressure they were all under. 

The compassion that was shown was second to none. It was like everyone, the medics, the cleaning staff, porters and electricians were on a mission to cheer me up or make me feel more comfortable.

Pam got a massive shock when she was diagnosed.

“It was stage 4 lung cancer with a metastasis to the brain,” she says.

How did she get through the past year?

“Thanks to the support of my incredible fiancé, my friends and family, I’ve found my way through this past year and have surprisingly had a lot of fun and adventure while doing so.

“I’ve done a lot of firsts this year, from skiing, taking part in a musical to buying a campervan and getting a puppy! There was a lot of laughter, joy, and awe.”

Pam has a lot going for her.

“I’ve pushed myself to complete a 10 mile hike challenge and a Quest adventure race. The people in the town I’m from, Youghal, have been nothing short of incredible.

“Shortly after I was diagnosed, the community of Youghal rallied to raise nearly €14,500 for the CUH oncology unit through a raffle of prizes by local businesses and a yoga event in the Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage. Youghal Cancer Support Centre provided huge support.”

Pam has seen up close and personal the positives of her community.

“I’ve really seen the meaning of community and I’m so appreciative of every well-wish, positive shout from a car window, prayer, and organic veg left at my door, and every other way people have shown me that they care,” she said.

“My work colleagues in Douglas Rochestown Educate Together NS have also banded together to support me in so many beautiful ways.”

There are good days, but bad days.

“There are some very dark days too, and they like to sneak up on you when you least expect them.

But overall, I feel positive, hopeful, and strong.

Pam’s life was on hold for a while.

“Receiving the diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer, everything stops,” says Pam.

“All those exciting life plans you imagined for yourself just evaporate.

“It feels like everything is snatched away from you. Life is lived in three-monthly blocks.”

Pam wakes up these days and smells the roses.

“I also see the beauty in things more clearly,” she says.

“I see the value in great people in my life and the importance of good conversation.”

Pam wants to have the conversation about her experiences to help others.

“Looking back, I would love to say to people, trust yourself. You know when something isn’t right.

“Ask for a second opinion, be forceful, advocate for yourself, don’t worry about causing a fuss, you might be saving your own life!”

The message is: Lung cancer can affect anyone at any time.

“I want to see the awareness of lung cancer as a disease that can affect anyone of any age spread,” says Pam.

More screening, more awareness, less stigma.

“I would also encourage people to advocate for themselves, to know when things don’t feel right and push to be heard. I’m glad I was persistent.”

We’re glad to hear good news.

“I’m looking forward to celebrating Christmas when Shane’s family are travelling home from abroad, and my family will be around too. Last Christmas was a write off!”

The New Year will bring more good news.

“We’re getting married in June next year,” says Pam.

The future is bright. Pam and Shane will have everything going for them.

ABOUT THE MARIE KEATING FOUNDATION

The Marie Keating Foundation has launched a groundbreaking new AR innovation, ‘Filter Out Lung Cancer’ in partnership with Snapchat and Aleph, Snapchat’s certified official sales partner in Ireland, to help raise symptom awareness for Lung Cancer Awareness Month this November.

The Snapchat mobile tech innovation has already achieved more than half a million views and more than 9,000 shares across the platform since launching on November 1 as part of the ‘Big Check Up, the charity’s annual ‘Lung Cancer Awareness Month campaign.

It aims to raise public awareness of the signs and symptoms of lung cancer and encourage those at risk to get symptoms checked because early detection early detection is key to increasing lung cancer survival rates.

The Marie Keating Foundation is currently exploring how to globally export the innovative, informative, and awareness-raising new lens.

Lisa Yeates, CEO of the Marie Keating Foundation, said: “Lung cancer death rates remain shockingly high, largely due to late diagnosis, while symptom awareness is alarmingly low, and a stigma persists in relation to lung cancer. The time has come to change how people see lung cancer, to raise public awareness and encourage those with lung cancer signs and symptoms to get checked, because early detection, combined with all the new treatments available, significantly improves chances of positive outcomes.

“We’re thrilled to form this innovative partnership with Snapchat Ireland to raise symptom awareness through the use of technology, with the aim of reaching a broad demographic across Irish society.

“Our aim is to increase is to increase symptom awareness, engage with a wider audience and encourage anyone with possible symptoms o get them checked. The Snapchat Filter Out Lung Cancer AR lens is an exciting, interactive, dynamic way to help us achieve this.”

Visit mariekeating.ie for more information on the Big Check Up Campaign.