'I saw 15 to 18 months, then death': Clare woman marks three years of living with incurable brain cancer

Ennis woman Trish Blake urges fellow cancer sufferers to 'keep moving through life' and to seek help and support

Trish Blake at Spanish Point, Co Clare. Picture: Eamon Ward

A woman living with rare brain cancer marks three years this week since hearing she had 15 to 18 months to live, as she urged other patients to keep moving through life.

Trish Blake knew nothing about brain cancer when she first heard those words.

“I had nobody to compare myself with, so I saw 15 to 18 months, then death. I didn’t see beyond 18 months,” she said.

Now, instead of a fantastical bucket list, she feels lucky to mark ordinary moments.

“I’ve had three family weddings since my diagnosis. There are four new babies into our family, and every time something like that happens I think, ‘I’m so grateful’,” she said.

“I think ‘it could have been your husband and your kids at this [wedding] on their own'.” 

She is acutely aware some patients do not get this time, but urged: “If you can get up, you can move, you can move through life.

“You need to dig deep, and you need to say ‘that’s what I’m going to do’.” 

Back in July 2023, she said: “It all happened extremely quickly.

“I was in work on Monday, and I was in A&E Monday evening in Limerick, the regional hospital. And then the following day I was ambulanced down to Cork to the neurological team.” 

She described how her husband Gearóid and children, then aged 14 and 16, drove behind her ambulance.

“Everything was such a shock. Such a shock,” she said.

"I had headaches off and on for maybe about six months. I was 49 so menopause was kicking in and [doctors] were putting it down to that.” 

More scans were followed by her first brain surgery on July 14 at Cork University Hospital.

“They said then this is cancerous and it’s high-grade,” she said.

Glioblastoma is a rare and very aggressive cancer. A second surgery followed within days.

The operations were lifesaving, but she said: “We were very much aware you could have a stroke on the table."

Trish Blake at Spanish Point, Co Clare this week. Picture: Eamon Ward

On returning home to Ennis, “the whole roller-coaster” started. She was coming to terms with changes such as to her eyesight and anxiety around ongoing care.

“I have to go for three-monthly brain MRIs in Limerick. And I could be waiting two to three weeks for the results of that,” she said.

She describes removing jewellery or under-wired bras before each scan, saying: “It’s like you’re baring your soul at the door.

“You shed a layer every time going in. And every time it’s a little bit harder because you’re getting this far ahead and you feel ‘how much longer ahead can I look’.” 

Passing the 18-month mark was “a little bit of anti-climax” despite also turning 50 around then, she recalled.

“I remember thinking ‘I don’t want to do anything’. It was a feeling of gratitude but also of sadness for me, for what happened to me.” 

Now she wants to offer a different visual of life with cancer.

“I wasn’t pointed in the direction [of help], I didn’t know where to find the supports,” she said.

“All I was told was ‘you’re terminally ill, sort out your affairs.’” 

One turning point was finding the Sláinte an Chláir cancer centre in Kilnamona.

Now she never turns down a coffee invite or a visit to her beloved Spanish Point, and shares her pride in her children as they pass milestones. She recently returned to work part-time.

“The numbers are statistics, but there are still people surviving longer than that,” she said.

Ms Blake wants to thank her “amazing” medical teams, mentioning CUH neurological surgeon Mazhar Iqbal as well as oncologist Roshni Kalachand and radiotherapy consultant Mazen El Bassiouni at the Mater Private/Mid Western Radiation Oncology Centre Limerick.

About 400 people are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour annually in Ireland, according to Sinéad Power, a cancer nurse with the Irish Cancer Society Daffodil Centre in CUH.

Symptoms of a primary brain tumour can include seizures or blackouts, personality changes and uncoordinated movements.

“These symptoms can be caused by conditions other than brain tumours, but it’s important to go to your GP and get any unusual changes checked,” she advised.

Contact a cancer nurse for information on free supports at a Daffodil Centre or Freephone 1800 200 700 or [e-mail].