Ep 04 - Doing It Her Way: Gert O'Rourke’s Journey Through Breast Cancer

28/10/2025 37 min Temporada 2 Episodio 4
Ep 04 - Doing It Her Way: Gert O'Rourke’s Journey Through Breast Cancer

Listen "Ep 04 - Doing It Her Way: Gert O'Rourke’s Journey Through Breast Cancer"

Episode Synopsis

In this episode, Gert O'Rourke, originally from Portlaoise and now living outside Galway, shares her journey through aggressive HER2-positive breast cancer. With a family history of cysts, she knew the routine when attending the Breast Clinic – but this time she noticed that this lump felt different. Diagnosed in 2018, Gert was reassured by her medical team, including Professor Ray, that research into this type of breast cancer is going very well and now it is one of the more treatable ones.
She talks through her treatment plan, which included chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and eight different surgeries. She opens up about her experience with the effects of chemotherapy and how she decided to continue working during the chemo as she remained determined to face the journey her own way.
Gert mentions how writing everything down helped her stay informed and highlights that every breast cancer journey is different.
Join us as Gert shares her powerful story and her inspiring message: trust the treatment and trust the people.
 
Produced by www.GKMedia.ie

More episodes of the podcast Staying Abreast, brought to you by The National Breast Cancer Research Institute.