Whiteabbey woman Cathy's book of poems to raise funds for Friends of the Cancer Centre and Cancer Lifeline
A Whiteabbey woman has penned a book of poems about her cancer journey in a bid to raise funds for some of the organisations that have supported her through her illness.
Cathy Valente wrote ‘My Battle, My Strength: How I turned my cancer pain into power’ while undergoing treatment for Stage 4 breast cancer.
The mum of five was first diagnosed in June 2022 at the age of 47.
"I always thought with breast cancer there would be a lump, but this presented as a thickening down the side of my breast,” Cathy said.
"Initially I thought it was the menopause as I was having night sweats as well. I mentioned it to the nurse when I’d gone in for a smear.”
Faced with a wait of several months following an initial referral, Cathy sought an an urgent follow-up and underwent a number of biopsies, an ultrasound, and a mammogram.
The diagnosis that followed was a complete shock. “Never in a million years did I think I would get breast cancer; I was always fairly healthy and rarely got sick,” said Cathy.
“I immediately thought of my children and how was I going to tell them. My daughter was only 14 at the time.
"Even now I still talk about it as if it’s someone else; it’s been a lot to process. When I was 18, my fiancé was diagnosed with lymphoma and we got married before he died. That was my experience with cancer before this, and that was what was in my head, how quickly he had gone.”
Cathy is currently undergoing chemotherapy – the third such line of treatment she has had. “The first line of treatment I had worked for me for about 20 months, but the second didn't work at all,” she said. “That’s the scary thing about it; it’s trial and error. The most recent one I’ve felt a bit more sick, and very tired, but I try to get on with it. I travel when I can – that keeps me going.”
The inspiration for her poems, meanwhile, came very much out of the blue. “It was springtime and I was sitting outside, and all of a sudden it just came to me,” Cathy said. “I loved English at school and writing stories, but I’d never written any poems before.
“Cancer does take a lot away from you in the beginning, and there are one or two poems about my diagnosis. But a lot of the poems are positive.”
Meanwhile, Cathy hopes that the poems will offer comfort to readers, too. “We all go through heartbreak and change in our lives; that’s something a lot of people can relate to.”
Proceeds from the book’s sales will go towards Friends of the Cancer Centre as well as Cancer Lifeline.
Cancer Lifeline is local charity providing essential services to individuals and families affected by cancer in north Belfast, including the recently-launched ‘Men’s Den’ project for male cancer patients or males who are supporting a loved one through cancer. “Cancer Lifeline were great; it was really like a home from home for me,” Cathy said.
Copies of ‘My Battle, My Strength: How I turned my cancer pain into power’ can be purchased at Quiz in the Abbey Centre, at Cancer Lifeline, and from Cathy on [email protected].