Brave Longford woman battling stage three cancer says: 'Take every minute' life throws at you

Samantha Shanley issued the heartfelt plea this week only a matter of weeks since being diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in March.

The Longford town native has already undergone two sessions of intense chemotherapy out of a total of eight ahead of a full masechtemomy, a three week course of radiotherapy and the likely possibility of having to be on tablets for the next five to ten years of her life.

“We had a holiday booked for July and everything, but what I say now to people is to take every moment you can,” she said.

“If you think something is wrong, always trust your instincts and don’t put things off.”
Those instincts were emotions Samantha paid heed to when her own doctor attempted to allay her own fears during a routine check up in February.

Despite her own misgivings, it wasn’t until seven weeks later in early April that the former Scoil Mhuire student received the news she had been secretly dreading.

“I waited two weeks and when I didn’t hear anything I decided to ring St James’ (Hospital, Dublin) and was told my appointment was for April 30,” she said.

That delay prompted Samantha to go private in light of the fact she was also previously deemed high risk and a BRCA gene carrier after her late mother passed away from cancer while her twin sister was similarly diagnosed with the same illness.

That said, the brave and resilient Longford native is refusing to allow her own travails get the better of her.

“Sure, there are days when I will start crying and wonder if everything will be ok, but I am staying positive and I will keep getting on with things, with life, it's all I can do.”

*A GoFundMe page has been set up to aid Samantha financially as she continues her battle against cancer. To donate follow the link: gofundme.com/f/help-to- save-sam.