Cancer free for two years - here's why I'm doing The Echo Women's Mini Marathon

Cancer survivor Pearl Beamish will be taking part in The Echo Women’s Mini Marathon on September 22, as part of a team of 30 from the Midleton branch of Slimming World, in aid of Marymount Hospice.

Carrigtwohill-based Pearl, who will be walking the 5km event, is on a mission to look after her health. She has lost 16 pounds in weight as a result of g up to Slimming World, which she ed after a diagnosis of pre-diabetes.

Last year, the 56 year-old mother-of-two and grandmother took part in the mini marathon with seven colleagues from Midleton Educate Together school, where Pearl works as a special needs assistant.

“Quite a few teachers there have been through the cancer journey,” says Pearl.

The eight staff (from a staff of 65) took part in the challenge in aid of Marymount and the Irish Cancer Society. One of the teachers, Katherine Griffin, who survived cancer, wrote a motivational book Hope To Cope, and donated the proceeds to Marymount Hospice.

Pearl became unwell in January, 2022. Having been through the menopause, she was alerted that there was something wrong when she bled heavily a couple of times.

She had a growth in her womb removed. Three to four weeks later, she got a call to say it was cancerous and that she would have to have her womb removed.

“Nobody wants to know they have cancer,” says Pearl. “The way I looked at it, I had to have an operation to take out a little package from my body. It was the radiotherapy afterwards that got me. It upset me more because it was coming into my body. But I wasn’t in physical pain.

“For the radiotherapy sessions, I had to empty my bladder and my bowel. It was all over in five weeks. I didn’t need to have chemotherapy.”

But Pearl suffered a number of UTIs (urinary tract infections) which she’d never before had.

“It was caused by bladder irritation and it’s ongoing. But I haven’t had an infection for a while.”

However, Pearl says the radiation remains in the body for a good while after treatment and she experiences dry skin and tiredness as a result.

This year, she wants to improve on her time in last year’s mini marathon.

“I hope to do much better because of the pre-diabetic diagnosis and wanting to reverse it. I had no idea I was pre-diabetic. 

As part of my after-care and taking part in a Cancer Survivor survey that CUH is doing, I had my bloods tested and that’s what showed up.

Pearl has decided to job-share for the new school year so that she can concentrate on her health.

“The past year, I found it really difficult with the UTIs and the tiredness. The kids in the class were very physical and I found it draining.

“The school is very good. If you’re sick, you’re told to go home. But it’s not always easy to do that if you have a class that needs three staff .”

Pearl is looking forward to taking part in The Echo Women’s Mini Marathon.

“There will be music at the end. It will be like a party. That’s the plan and I think it’s very important that it’s fun; otherwise, it would be just a chore.”

She is doing plenty of training.

Both my daughters are really good walkers so they drag me out all the time.

She has some sage advise for others who may notice changes in their health. Spurred on by Pearl’s swift attention to her unexpected bleeding, a friend of hers, with the same symptom, decided to go to her doctor. It turned out that she had to have a hysterectomy but didn’t need any treatment afterwards.

“For me, it was probably easy to detect (something wrong) because I had gone through the change and knew the bleeding was an issue.

As women, we tend to put things on the long finger. Any niggles or pains are kind of ignored. But I think we have an instinct that there could be something wrong. If you have that feeling, get checked out.

“I’ve been clear from cancer for two years now. I know I have to look after myself and it involves a lot of walking.”

HOW TO TAKE PART IN THE MINI MARATHON

Registration is open for The Echo Women’s Mini Marathon. Now in its 43rd year, the event is hosted by Cork Athletics. It raises approximately €1.5m for charities each year.

The 5km event will take place on September 22 at 1pm. The race starts on Kennedy Quay and finishes in Kennedy Park.

Keep an eye on the Mini Marathon Facebook page and website in the coming weeks for updates.

Participants can at /minimarathon

Nourish are the training partner. Brenda Dennehy is the brand ambassador.