Hi everyone, my name is Emma Muldowney and I am honoured to be this year’s Dublin County Champion for the Vhi Virtual  Women’s Mini Marathon!    I’m 24 years old and this will be my first year taking part in the Mini Marathon. I am very excited to be involved in an event which celebrates the strength of so many amazing women, including all of those who have supported me during a very difficult year.  17 of my incredible friends and I will be doing the Mini Marathon in aid of the Irish Cancer Society, a cause which has effected every one of our lives. My main motivations for volunteering are to raise much needed funds to support cancer patients and to raise awareness of the importance of regular health checks for people of all ages. 

The Irish Cancer Society offer hugely beneficial services such as funding vital research into new treatment methods and providing free counselling and support lines to cancer patients and their families. It is an extremely personal cause for me having gone through my own cancer diagnosis and treatment this year. 

My diagnosis could not have come as a bigger shock, being a 23 year old who had never experienced any serious health issues. My initial symptoms started as bloating, constipation, vomiting and tiredness. These symptoms further developed into an excruciating pain on the left side of my lower abdomen.  It was first thought that I had an ovarian cyst but I was then diagnosed with a very rare form of ovarian cancer, which mostly affects young women in their 20s. I am still processing the shock of this moment as I had never even considered that I would receive such a diagnosis at my age.  

My treatment involved invasive abdominal surgery and an intensive chemotherapy regime. The few weeks before and after my surgery were extremely difficult as I experienced so much pain and lost nearly all of my physical strength in a very short period of time. One of the hardest moments of my life was trying to accept the reality that I would have to go through chemotherapy. The side effects were very difficult to manage and there were many days that I felt like I could no longer take it. But trying to remain positive and believe in myself was so important for my mind and body. As I tried to cope with the reality of losing all of my energy and hair, supports such the Irish Cancer Society became so important for me.  

The theme of this year’s Mini Marathon is ‘The Power of Me’, which celebrates the power of someone to make a difference in their own life and the lives of others. This theme really resonated with me as I have experienced its importance every day during the past year. Learning to believe in the power of my own body and mind to overcome cancer was a huge step in my journey.  I also experienced first hand the power of the support of other people, as I was overwhelmed and hugely affected by the kindness of my parents, family, boyfriend, friends, health professionals and so many others every single day.  

I am so incredibly blessed to be currently cancer free and in the recovery process. 6 months ago I struggled to even think about getting out of bed and now I am lucky enough to be able to train to complete a 10k run, showing that there are always better days ahead. The past year has completely changed my perspective on everything, as I realised the blessing of being healthy. I have learned the true fragility of life and wake up every day thankful for my health. I am now passionate about wellness and think that it is so important to to get to know all the needs of our bodies and minds.   

The decision to share my story has been a difficult one as I am still learning to accept what happened to me. However, I think that it is so important to raise awareness of cancer in young people and show that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for those going through something similar. I am urging every single person to go to a doctor straight away with any medical concerns, no matter how small they may seem. Doing so saved my life and could save the lives of so many others.  

The link to donate is provided below and donations of any size mean everything to me and so many others.  I hope that funds raised can help all of those people still going through the physical and mental impacts of this disease. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and supporting the cause.