Student treated for bone cancer 'blown away' by her Leaving Cert results 

Mia Dorney is delighted to be heading off to college to study her dream course
Student treated for bone cancer 'blown away' by her Leaving Cert results 

Mia Dorney, at her home in Ballyvolane, was diagnosed just as she was beginning fifth year in school. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

A Cork student who spent most of her last two years in school undergoing intense treatment for a rare bone cancer is thrilled to have been offered her dream college course. 

Mia Dorney from Ballyvolane said she was “blown away” when she received her Leaving Cert results and then an offer to study on her first choice of college course.

After being diagnosed with osteosarcoma on her left femur in 2018, the teenager had to learn to use her leg again after major surgery, spending time in a wheelchair and undergoing bouts of chemotherapy.

When she felt well enough, Mia would keep up with her studies from her bed in Cork University Hospital (CUH) while she underwent treatment.

“Some days if I was feeling well enough I’d ask mom and dad to bring up my school bag and I’d just do a bit of reading or a bit of studying while I was on chemo," she told the Irish Examiner. 

 Mia Dorney is now off to study Business Information Systems (BIS) at Cork Institute of Technology. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
Mia Dorney is now off to study Business Information Systems (BIS) at Cork Institute of Technology. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

A former student of St Aidan's Community College on Dublin Hill, Mia is very grateful for the support she received from her school. 

She said: “My teachers were so good to me. When I felt well enough on the weeks I had chemo off, they would come down to my house and try their best to help me catch up and keep up with my studies.” 

Mia was diagnosed just as she was beginning fifth year in school. 

She said: "What I thought were just little aches and pains from playing sport was actually a tumour in my left femur. I got the diagnosis and I had to start chemo within two weeks." 

Continuing with chemo throughout fifth year meant Mia could not go to school. 

She said: "It was an aggressive cancer so I was treated quite aggressively and I was very sick.”

As well as chemotherapy, Mia had a knee replacement, and part of her femur replaced as well. 

"I also had metal bars put up and down my leg to hold it in place. I had to spend time in a wheelchair because I couldn't bend my leg at all."

"It took me four or five months to get the bend back, doing a lot of physio and hydro-physio." 

All while that was going on, I just really wanted to graduate with all my friends and do my Leaving Cert in 2020 so that we’d go off to college together. I started off with my friends so I wanted to finish school with them.

Thankfully, Mia got the all-clear in April 2019, returning to school last September. 

"Because I couldn't do PE or anything over my legs, I did extra classes with teachers just once or twice a week to catch up on the things I missed." 

However, she began to worry about her studies and her Leaving Cert when the schools closed in March due to Covid-19. 

Last Monday, those worries were "blown out of the water" when she received her results. 

Mia Dorney, centre, at the unveiling of the #Room4ARC banner on Grand Parade last year. Mia is heading to CIT to study business information systems.  File picture: Brian Lougheed
Mia Dorney, centre, at the unveiling of the #Room4ARC banner on Grand Parade last year. Mia is heading to CIT to study business information systems.  File picture: Brian Lougheed

She said: "I didn’t think I was going to do as well as I did, considering the circumstances. My family were all delighted when I got my results. I didn’t even know what to think!" 

“My teachers really were so good to me, they really helped me a lot to catch up and keep up with my classmates as much as possible.”

Mia is now off to study Business Information Systems (BIS) at Cork Institute of Technology. She loves Irish and one day would like to get into marketing but she has not decided just yet on her chosen career. 

She said: "It's so broad and there are so many opportunities that I know I'll find my dream career so I am happy to go into that course and see where it takes me." 

"I like marketing, and I like the idea of business and IT and that's kind of where the degree will take me so I'm looking forward to starting it now."

More in this section