At Her.ie, we have the privilege of meeting some very special and inspiring people throughout the course of our jobs.
Last Tuesday was one such occasion when Emma Hannigan, author of Designer Genes, The Pink Ladies Club, Talk To the Headscarf and The Summer Guest to name but a few of her novels, sat down for a chat with us.
You may have heard of Emma before, she’s a pretty special lady. Having beaten cancer eight times, Ms Hannigan has just finished her ninth round of treatment for a disease that many of us are familiar with.
Considering life isn’t what one would call easy when in the midst of such a battle, Emma is vivacious, positive and a breath of fresh air.
Between her gorgeous printed maxi dress, hearty laugh and unique knack for a brilliant one-liner, she has somewhat of a Jennifer Lawrence effect in that you really want to be her BFF.
The interview was peppered with giggles and funny anecdotes, yet serious issues were discussed with Emma offering some invaluable advice.
We’re in awe of this lady and after reading this interview, we’d be very surprised if you don’t feel the same way.
The Beginning
It all started in 2005, when I found out I had the breast cancer gene. The Angelina Jolie gene as it’s now known, she’s made it very glamorous. When I found out, I was 32 and I had my two children thankfully.
My mum had the test first and she tested positive. Once a parent has it, their child has a 50% chance of having the gene. There were two options: radical surgery, having a bilateral mastectomy and a bilateral oophorectomy which translates as a double mastectomy, (having both breasts and ovaries removed) or you could be monitored.
A mammogram was the only thing they offered at the time for breast monitoring and looking into the breast tissue of a 32-year-old is like looking into a ball of cotton wool. The tissue is too taut and you can’t see anything, this is generally why younger woman don’t get mammograms as you can’t see anything.
Since then, they’ve added in an MRI of the breast too so with the MRI and mammogram they can see from two different angles and it’s much more complete. My mum opted for the monitoring and I decided to go for the surgery. So I had a double mastectomy and my ovaries and Fallopian tubes removed. I had all of that done in 2006 and had breast reconstruction and thought to myself, ”that’s it, everything done. I’ve ticked all those boxes, lovely. Let’s move on now and do something else”.
Four months later, I found two lumps in my neck.
I also had a rash across my chest and face and my head was really itchy all the time. I went back to the hospital where I had the mastectomy and I went to two other doctors, all of whom said to me, more or less, that I was imagining things.
It got to a point where I could barely walk, my arms and legs were really swollen and my face too. I went to a skin specialist in Blackrock Clinic, Cal Condon. Every time I see him, I tell him “you saved my life” and he blushes frantically and runs away from me! I went into him, to see if he could do something with the rash and he took one look at me and said “you’re very sick”. I’m sure he thought I was completely mad, because I smiled. I remember thinking, thank God I’m not mad and somebody believes me. He removed the two little peas in my neck which turned out to be cancer and the rash was an autoimmune disease called dermatomyositis.
Both of these on their own can kill you, and the two together is not a good combination. I started on IV steroids for the autoimmune disease and then a week later, I had my first chemotherapy session. I had a lot of infections at this time, as the autoimmune disease meant I had no white blood cells to fight infection.
That was tough but the doctors were great and always very positive. So that was six months and at the end I thought “I’ve ticked the box. I’ve done the cancer thing, hurray”.
Four months later, the cancer came back. I had more chemotherapy, another six months and thought ok twice, that’s enough but it came back again.
The cancer has been in my head, neck and across my chest, little lumps which are best described as lymph node invasion, which sounds like a game of space invaders.
I’ve had it nine times. Hopefully it’s all gone now; I can’t feel it any more. The breaks in between each bout of cancer have been longer, it’s about two years between the current one and the one before.
Starting Out
I loved English in school, I was probably the only one in the class who when given an essay at the weekend, my reaction was hurray! When I had the autoimmune disease and kept getting infections, I was stuck in the hospital for weeks on end and I couldn’t concentrate on the television or read magazines.
It was frustrating so I decided to log what was happening. I realised I could do that, some people think that it would take more concentration to write a book than watch television but it was a zone I was able to go into. I never thought I would write a book, it never entered my head but I did think the account of what was happening to me was quite boring so I turned it into a novel.
Cathy Kelly happens to be one of my best friends and she’d come in to see me and would ask why I kept snapping the laptop shut. My response was that if anyone’s going to read it, it can’t be Cathy Kelly.
Then when I finished writing Designer Genes, Cathy was going away for four days. I said I’d email it to her as she was going away but that if it was really crap, she shouldn’t ever talk about it.
However, she rang me from her hotel room saying she couldn’t stop reading and I had to do something with it. She was so encouraging and I sent it off to a couple of publishers with a cover letter. I very blondly tumbled into the whole thing and was very lucky to have two offers within a week, and the book came out the following year.
A Positive Message
Designer Genes has a place in my heart as it’s my first book but I think each book I write becomes my new favourite. I love The Summer Guest which is out at the moment.
I’m asked a lot if I feel that cancer defines me and if I feel I have to be upbeat when talking about it. I’m not pretending though, it’s the way I am. When I wrote Designer Genes, there was nothing else out there that was real. It was all either a bit fluffy and that’s why I wrote Talk to the Headscarf.
When I was diagnosed the first time, I didn’t fit into a lot of boxes. I wasn’t an older woman, I had young children. I found that hard and wish there had been something that I could relate to, that’s not written with big flowery words and medical jargon. I didn’t want something depressing. That’s why I do a bit of media too, because I now have a voice that I can use and it’s a positive message. I don’t do it to freak people out, I do it so I can say I’m the same as you and there’s nothing different.
I love writing, although I’ve had lots of different jobs. I went to Ballymaloe when I finished school and learned how to cook. I had my own catering company and then I worked in an engineering company and also did beauty therapy for a while. I was at a real crossroads when I got sick and I knew I’d have to be off work for a while. I was thinking about what I would do next and writing fell out of the sky and hit me on the head. When you find what you’re meant to be doing, it doesn’t feel like work. It is work, very hard work and I’m very disciplined but I love it.
My Children
My son Sacha is 14, and my daughter Kim is 12. They’re great but I guess they’re a different generation, in the way they see cancer.
I’m an ambassador for Breast Cancer Ireland and they’re all about research. The money donated to them goes to finding new drugs and towards cures, which they have found. Since I was diagnosed the first time to now, there are new medicines on the market and they work. That’s why people like me live longer; their message is turning cancer from a potentially deadly illness into a chronic illness.
So yes, it might come back but we can do something with it. That’s the whole message and it’s what my kids see. It’s what they’ve lived and experienced. They do know that people die from cancer, my uncle was 49 and he died last September. The last time I told them the cancer was back, they asked where it was and I said it was in my neck and the back of my head. They then asked if I would be okay and I said I would be to which they replied, great, what’s for dinner?
Some people look at me and think that’s mad, but that’s the way it is in our house. I told them in the car, driving them home from school. I didn’t sit them down with Cian (Emma’s husband) at the kitchen table with a box of tissues. I know it’s not that easy for some people but that’s the way we have always been. There were days I couldn’t get out of bed and I didn’t hide that but they came and got into bed with me. My son is head and shoulders taller than me, even though he’s only 14. He gets into bed beside me, puts his arm around me and asks if I’m having a crap day and we watch Modern Family.
Nothing is swept under the carpet, its okay to say I’m having a bad day and as soon as I look like I’m anyway better, they want to go to Dundrum!
My children can be tested but they have to be over 18 and it has to be of their own accord. The thing people have to remember though is that less than 5% of cancers are hereditary.
It’s rare to have a cancer gene but if you are worried the first port of call is your GP who will go through your family’s history of cancer and refer you if they feel there is a need to.
Feelings
I think I’ve always been very conscious of not letting it win. I keep score on my website, cancer 0, Emma 8. Some people find it a bit distasteful but I like it. I can’t choose whether or not it invades my body but I can choose what I’m going to do with my mind. I’m not going to change my disposition or how I feel about my life. Even after having breast reconstruction and scars on my tummy, I’ll still wear a bikini. I was asked years and years ago by a man who was interviewing me if I felt mutilated. It’s something that still makes me smile, because I think if that was one of the things I was supposed to feel, oops I skipped that!
Nobody has an easy life. People are losing their jobs, their houses and the idea of saying woe is me, I’ve had cancer so many times and therefore I should be down in the dumps, no. You have to just get on with what you’ve got.
Advice
The biggest thing I could say to anyone is talk. If you can’t talk to somebody you know, which can be hard as some people don’t want to or maybe their nearest and dearest are so upset by the diagnosis, but there are loads of support groups now. Your doctor will tell you where, they are free and they do group and single sessions. If that’s not for you, do what I do and write. Even if nobody reads it, get it out there. Don’t have it stuck inside because if you do, it’s as bad as the cancer. That way, you’re letting it win. Fight back in whatever way you possibly can.
Be nice to yourself, if you don’t have a lot of funds and a lot of people don’t when going through treatment. If there’s something you really like, even a Crème Egg, buy it twice a week instead of once.
Eliminate anyone from your life who’s dragging you down, although you don’t have to have cancer to do that, do you?!
