Daffodil Diaries - Colin Hawkins

“I will never forget them sitting me down with a cup of tea, and telling me ‘It’s cancer', multiple myeloma to be exact."

In October 2022, Colin Hawkins from County Meath began experiencing pain in his rib area.

“I eventually got an appointment with a GP. At first, they thought it could be a viral infection or maybe long covid. I was put on steroids, but they didn’t help. By Christmas time, the pain was becoming harder and harder to tolerate.

“In mid-January I went to the Emergency Department in the Hospital and begged for an MRI, I was in so much pain. I had to pull the car over a few times before I even made it to the hospital. I needed to understand what was going on with my body.”

The MRI showed tumours all over Colin’s back.

“I will never forget them sitting me down with a cup of tea, and telling me ‘It’s cancer’, multiple myeloma to be exact. Cancer hadn’t even entered my mind. I was only 47, I had spent 20 years of my life in sport; I was fit and healthy. But I didn’t really have much time to think and digest it, as I was straight into scans to see how bad things were, followed by surgery on my neck. I then had nerve blocking surgery, which really helped with my pain levels. After that I began chemotherapy.

“Then in July 2023, I was booked in for a stem cell transplant. This involved one month in ICU, in total isolation. This was incredibly tough, I couldn’t see my wife or my 3 kids. It all seemed to be worth it though, as 100 days later I was told I was in remission and would be put on maintenance treatment.

“Then we got more earth-shattering news, my wife Elaine was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was a huge blow. Suddenly it went from her taking care of me, to me taking care of her. She began an aggressive course of treatment, and I was thankfully able to support her.  

“Then about five months ago, I went back to the hospital for my routine blood tests. Unfortunately, my blood results showed that my cancer was back. This was such a huge shock, actually more so than my initial cancer diagnosis. I have tried a few treatments, and I am now on a new cancer trial drug, so we are seeing how that goes.

"“One thing I have learnt through this experience, is the important of leaning on the support services that are available. ”

“My wife Elaine is thankfully doing well and is going back to work soon. I have been availing of the Irish Cancer Society Transport Service, which had been a godsend. Having that lift to and from treatment is fantastic, it means life for my family can still go on without having to worry about how to get me to hospital. I often have great chats with the drivers; they really take the pressure off. 

“One thing I have learnt through this experience, is the important of leaning on the support services that are available. If that’s the lifts to treatments or the group discussions with others who are going through the same thing as you, it makes it all that little bit easier.”