Working Life: Your health can change quickly, and you can never take it for granted

Janette Boran, Healthy Ireland coordinator, Kilkenny County Council. Photo: Dylan Vaughan

“Sport and exercise were a big part of my life growing up in Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny. I was lucky to be surrounded by family and friends who shared that passion. My love of sport naturally sent me in the direction I wanted to take after school.

“I completed a degree in exercise science and health studies at Waterford Institute of Technology (now South East Technological University), where I became interested in the impact physical activity can have on people living with chronic conditions, as well as older adults and those with additional needs. I later completed a master’s degree in cardiac rehabilitation and prevention at Trinity College Dublin, which helped me further specialise in health and prevention.

“After graduating, I moved to Galway to work with Croí Heart and Stroke Centre. That experience was invaluable. From there, I moved into my current role as a Healthy Ireland coordinator in Kilkenny, which allows me to support and promote health and wellbeing on a wider community level.

“During college, I was diagnosed with dermatomyositis, an autoimmune condition that attacks the muscles. I went from being extremely active to, within weeks, struggling with basic daily tasks. I felt my 20-year-old self was living in the body of a 90-year-old. It was a huge adjustment and a difficult experience, but it taught me something early in life: Your health can change quickly, and you can never take it for granted.

Janette Boran, Healthy Ireland coordinator, Kilkenny County Council. Photo: Dylan Vaughan

“I will shortly be presenting on a project we implemented in Kilkenny called Urban Action for Cancer Prevention (UcanACT). It encouraged people aged 50 and over — including people living with cancer and those in survivorship — to become more physically active, while also supporting people without cancer through a primary prevention focus. The project engaged more than 200 people across Europe, delivering physio-led exercise programmes in public urban green spaces. (More information visit: UCanACT Project)

“My presentation will be part of a free public webinar on physical activity for cancer risk reduction on World Cancer Day on Wednesday, February 4. The Irish Cancer Prevention Network, a partnership between the HSE National Cancer Control programme, Breakthrough Cancer Research, the Marie Keating Foundation, the Irish Cancer Society, and the HSE National Screening Service, marks World Cancer Day with the webinar.”

• To register for the Irish Cancer Prevention Network’s World Cancer Day free public webinar ‘Small Steps, Big Impact: Physical Activity for Cancer Risk Reduction’ see: exa.mn/world-cancer-webinar