Working Life: Around 80% of children who get cancer are now long-term survivors

Jane Pears, consultant paediatric oncologist, CHI Crumlin

Jane Pears, consultant in oncology. Dr Pears practices primarily in CHI at Crumlin, Dublin. Picture: Gareth Chaney

“I grew up on a farm in north-east England, where no one in the household had ever been to university, not to mention medicine. When I did my A levels, I realised it was something I could do and it seemed like a very interesting job. The joke is that Dad would have preferred a vet in the family — we had lots of sheep and lambs.

“When I was in my intern year, I had an opportunity to go to a paediatric oncology clinic. An intellectual curiosity drew me to the specialty, which also has a very humane element. As a child, I experienced firsthand the ripple effect on family and extended family of a child with cancer. When my cousin was seven and I was nine, he developed childhood leukaemia. Thankfully, he’s alive and well today.