• Cancer survivor Evelyn O’Rourke brings cancer survivors face to face with ground-breaking cancer research in Ireland and it’s the life-changing impact

Making More Survivors Through Cancer Research

One in two people in Ireland will receive a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime, a stark reality, but one that researchers across the island of Ireland are tackling with incredible results thanks to the support of leading charities like Breakthrough Cancer Research.

Biseach ón Ailse, a powerful new documentary exploring innovative breakthroughs in cancer research in Ireland, backed by Breakthrough, is set to be broadcast by TG4 later this month.

In a heart-warming meeting of the minds, broadcaster, journalist and cancer survivor Evelyn O’Rourke brings two fellow cancer survivors face-to-face with dedicated cancer researchers to uncover the life-changing impact of cancer research.The well-known presenter has a keen interest in cancer research having had a personal experience with the disease 12 years ago. In this documentary, she meets with Caitríona Greene and Ann Marie O’Sullivan, both cancer survivors who share their personal stories of hope and resilience. The moving documentary shows how research creates breakthroughs and breakthroughs make more cancer survivors. Behind that simple equation hides innovation and science but it is the end result that helps people to get back to living, and creating memories and moments that would not have been possible were it not for cancer research.

This is a story of hope and perseverance, and a tribute to the remarkable individuals who are working tirelessly to find new, better, kinder, smarter treatments and diagnostics for cancer. The documentary, supported by Breakthrough Cancer Research and produced by Derek Nagle of Bo Media will be aired on Thursday 22nd June at 8.30pm TG4.

Biseach ón Ailse takes viewers on a journey through the world of cancer research, exploring the cutting-edge science behind new treatments and therapies. It tells the stories of two cancer survivors, Caitríona Greene and Ann Marie O’Sullivan and meets the researchers and advocates who are advancing the new, innovative approaches to eliminate cancer.

In 2021 Caitriona, a teacher from Donegal was diagnosed with cancer and while undergoing treatment discovered she was pregnant. Caitriona did 10 rounds of chemotherapy before giving birth to her beautiful daughter. Caitriona says:

“You have to trust the research and think about the women who came before me who didn’t have research. I think about the first pregnant woman to receive chemotherapy who didn’t have research. She did that so women like me could sit in that chair and know that I was doing the right thing.”

Ann Marie O’Connor was the first person in Munster to receive a new treatment (TCH-P) when she was diagnosed with cancer at the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020. The treatment was successful and she remembers the hope her medical team gave her.

The documentary highlights how more people are surviving cancer in Ireland today thanks to investment in research and why there is a critical need for more research into poorer prognosis cancers. 50 years ago less than half of people diagnosed with breast and prostate cancer could look forward to more than five year’s survival. Today, thanks to investment in cancer research, the five-year survival rates for those cancers are 88% and 93% respectively. However, today some cancer survival rates are still less than 15% (National Cancer Registry: Annual Statistical Report 2022).

The programme also sheds light on the groundbreaking work being done by Breakthrough Cancer Research, whose vision is to create 100% survival for 100% of cancers by investing more research funding into the cancers that need the greatest improvement, those that are causing almost half of cancer deaths in Ireland, and by reducing the time it takes for lab discoveries to get to patients.

Don’t miss this powerful and inspiring documentary, which offers a glimpse into the world of cancer research and the promise it holds for the future.

For more information on Breakthrough Cancer Research go to breakthroughcancerresearch.ie

Biographies of all participants:

Evelyn O’Rourke – Presenter:

Evelyn is a Presenter and Reporter for RTÉ Radio and TV. She has two sons and was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was pregnant with her second son.

Ann Marie O’Sullivan – Survivor:

Ann Marie is a writer/journalist and a mother of 2 children. She was diagnosed with Her 2 Positive Breast Cancer in June 2020 just as Ireland went into lockdown for the first time during the Covid19 pandemic. She received chemotherapy in July 2020, had an operation in December 2020 and radiotherapy in February 2023. Ann Marie was about to receive TCH

chemotherapy when her doctor offered her a new drug which meant she got TCH-P and was told she was the first person in Munster to receive it.

Catríona Greene – Survivor:

Catríona is a mother of 2 children. She was diagnosed with Breast Cancer when she was 8 weeks pregnant – treatment was held off until she was over 12 weeks pregnant and then both she and her baby survived the treatment and are enjoying life to the fullest today.

Dr. Tríona Ní Chonghaile – Researcher:

Dr. Tríona Ní Chonghaile is a Senior Lecturer at RCSI. She joined the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland as a Research Lecturer in 2015. She started her scientific career with a first class honours degree in Biomedical Science from the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG). She then went on to complete her PhD in Biochemistry (NUIG) in 2008, studying the role of BCL-2 family members in endoplasmic reticulum stress. Her interest in the BCL-2 family members led her to a clinically relevant post-doctoral fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School with Prof. Anthony Letai. There she received a Multiple Myeloma Research Fellowship to develop novel tools for personalised medicine. During her postdoc she was involved in numerous collaborative multi-disciplinary projects and published first-author papers in high-impact journals, including Science and Cancer Discovery.
In 2014, she returned to Ireland and joined the laboratory of Prof. William Gallagher at University College Dublin, as a Research Fellow. While there she received the European Association of Cancer Research Senior Young Scien.st Award (2014) and the prestigious L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award (2015).

Maitiú O’Murchú – Researcher:

PhD Student at TCD and RCSI funded by Breakthrough Cancer Research
Project Summary: Improving radiation resistance in oesophageal cancer using a novel thermoresponsive hydrogel ‘Oxygel’. Patients with oesophageal cancer can be treated with radiation prior to surgery. Unfortunately, up to 70% of these patients do not respond, and their tumour can actually increase in size at the time of surgery due to their non-response to radiation. This project aims to test if this non-response to radiation is due to a lack of oxygen in the tumour, and to see if we can fix this by increasing oxygen levels using the novel hydrogel, Oxygel, an oxygen-carrying gel which can be injected into the tumour.