Honour Your Heroes - Fran McDermott
Incredibly stoic Fran McDermott from Artane has been experiencing the care provided by Beaumont Hospital for longer than the average person. Having been diagnosed with testicular cancer in his twenties and thyroid cancer in his thirties, Fran has been in and out of Beaumont Hospital for well over a decade.
His first brush with cancer was diagnosed when he was twenty and still in college. He had initial surgery to remove the cancer but a subsequent scan revealed shadows on his lungs indicating the presence of secondary cancers. Fran underwent open chest surgery to remove the tumours followed by chemotherapy and returned to Beaumont for six monthly check-ups for ten years.
He was delighted to be given the all clear in 2012 but in January 2013 while shaving, he noticed a golf ball sized lump in his neck. Fran remembers knowing instinctively what it was and came straight to Beaumont to have it checked. He was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer and underwent two operations carried out by Consultant ENT Surgeon, Mr Peter Walshe, firstly to remove lymph nodes in his neck and then his thyroid gland.
Through out his battles with cancer, Fran has put all his energies in to remaining fit and developing a really strong positive mental approach to coping with his health issues. He took part in the Wicklow 200 raising €1,220 for the hospital and is pictured below at the Honour Your Heroes event where he thanked Peter Walshe and with his family who joined him here on the day.
