Mayo cancer survivor calls on local community to get behind worthy cause

Cancer survivor Susan Steer, who is in her 70s, is calling on people across Mayo to come along to Relay For Life Mayo at its new location in the Mall, Castlebar on the 16th of May.

Registration is now open for the 24-hour event, which starts at 5pm and is in aid of the Irish Cancer Society. Relay For Life brings the local community together to celebrate cancer survivors and remember those who have been lost to cancer.   Participants team up and take it in turns to walk through the day and night, with someone always on the move during the 24-hour period.  A key feature of every Relay For Life is the survivors’ lap, where cancer survivors who have lived or are living with cancer are invited to open the event with a special celebratory lap of their local Relay track.   

A moving Candle of Hope ceremony is one of the main highlights of Relay For Life.  Thousands of candle bags that have been personalised with messages of hope and remembrance are lit in celebration of cancer survivorship and to honour loved ones lost to cancer.   

The uplifting Relay For Life event also features entertainment and fun for all the family.  The funds raised at Relay For Life are essential to enable the Irish Cancer Society to provide free, vital support services to people affected by cancer across Ireland and to fund ground-breaking cancer research.   

Newport woman Susan Steer was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016. Her diagnosis came about after she found a lump in her breast, and she was successfully treated with a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Breast cancer survivor Susan Steer said: “Getting a breast cancer diagnosis was an awful shock. Reality sets in when they tell you that you have cancer, and it makes you recoil a little bit. I had to come to terms with it. But I made myself adopt a positive attitude, and the treatment I got in the hospital in Galway was phenomenal.” 

Susan goes for annual checks which have all come back clear, and regularly does breast checks and goes to her GP if she notices any concerning changes. She decided to get involved in Relay For Life Mayo because of her own cancer experience, and to pay tribute to loved ones she has lost to cancer. Susan’s father Vic died in 1967 after being diagnosed with lung cancer, while her husband Richard passed away in 2021 as a result of advanced liver cancer.

Speaking about losing her father, Vic, and husband, Richard, to cancer, Susan said: “I lost my father, Vic, to cancer in 1967. He was only 51. In those days, they hadn’t got the treatment we have nowadays. There was nothing that could be done for him. That experience of losing my father to cancer, it’s never left me, and since then other members of my family have succumbed to cancer.

“I lost my husband, Richard, to cancer five years ago, he had terminal liver cancer. The Irish Cancer Society Night Nurse that cared for him was lovely, the work they do is unbelievable and I have so much respect for them. They're so caring.” 

Motivated by her own personal experience of cancer and having lost loved ones, Susan took part in Relay For Life Mayo last year with her local pickleball club and is looking forward to this year’s event.

Commenting on what Relay For Life means to her, Susan said: “You can sit and mix with people and, as a survivor, you can give them confidence and hope. You can show them that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“It’s such a fun-filled day. There is sadness, but there’s also a lot of happiness and a really strong sense of community spirit.

“Relay For Life opens with the survivors’ lap, and when you do it, you feel like you’re on a journey but you’re not going through it alone. It just instils hope in everyone. People walk hand-in-hand, arm-in-arm. I’ve never seen anything like it before; it’s so moving and so touching.

“And the Candle of Hope ceremony is just breath-taking. You have to see it and be a part of it to understand exactly what it means. I encourage everyone to come along to Relay For Life Mayo – it’s mind-blowing, it really is.

“And the money raised goes to the Irish Cancer Society’s services, which supports people affected by cancer and their families, and it also helps to fund ground-breaking cancer research. It makes such a big difference to so many people.   

“1 in 2 of us will be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetime, so it’s so important to get behind fundraisers like Relay For Life so these vital services can continue to be there when we need them.” 

Ciara Hughes, Relay For Life Campaign Manager at the Irish Cancer Society, said: “People across the country have always enthusiastically supported Relay For Life, and in doing so they generously support the vital services provided by the Irish Cancer Society to ensure that no one in Ireland has to face cancer alone.   

“We’re delighted that Relay For Life has returned to Mayo this year in a brand-new location in Castlebar, giving more people in the county the opportunity to remember their loved ones and celebrate survivors within their community.” 

 People are welcome to come along and visit Relay For Life Mayo at any point throughout the 24-hour event, or to buy a candle bag to be displayed as part of the Candle of Hope ceremony, visit www.relayforlife.ie/event/mayo