Honour Your Heroes - Katriona Morley Smith

Friday, 02 September, 2016

Katriona Morley Smith from Swords (but originally from Ballyhaunis) has been receiving treatment in Beaumont Hospital for malignant melanoma for the past two years.

Her battle with skin cancer began when she noticed some changes in shape and colour to a freckle on her foot. It was only when she knocked it off a table and it began to bleed excessively that she decided to get it checked out. Her GP told her to go to Beaumont A & E where a biopsy was taken.

Two weeks later, Katriona underwent a full body scan and was told the news that she had cancer. She had surgery to remove the cancerous tissue from her foot and had lymph nodes from her groin which were also cancerous and put on a course of the drug, interferon.


She felt great in the first months of this year but then in April new growths that appeared on her legs proved to be cancerous again. She is currently receiving further treatment but her amazing joy of life and enormous positivity is keeping her firmly balanced. Katriona got married two weeks ago to her partner, David and was joined by her son, Josh (17) and a huge network of family and friends. At the Honour Your Heroes reception she thanked Consultant Medical Oncologist, Prof Liam Grogan and his award was collected on his behalf by Allyson Christie, CNM2 Oncology.


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