RTÉ 2fm presenter Louise McSharry has announced that she has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and will be off air for a number of months while she receives treatment.
In a deeply moving interview with Ryan Tubridy on his RTÉ 2fm show today, Wednesday August 27, McSharry said that she had not been feeling well for a number of months.
After an appendectomy in December, she had developed an abscess but had recovered from it. However, she then began to experience night sweats and was not eating her food.
Following blood tests, it was discovered her CRP figure (C-reactive protein) was very high but after more tests a diagnosis still had not been made.
While covering for Tubridy on his RTÉ 2fm show this summer she began to experience a "really bad pain" in her side and after more tests it was discovered that she had enlarged lymph nodes and she underwent a biopsy.
Last Wednesday, August 20, McSharry and her fiancé attended her consultant to find out the results of the biopsy and they were told she had lymphoma.
McSharry said that after receiving more information about treatment she knows "it is not necessary to go to that dark place".
"I'm really lucky," she said, "because Hodgkin's lymphoma is a curable cancer."
"I genuinely have no doubt that I'm going to be fine," she added.
For cancer information and support, visit the Irish Cancer Society website at: www.cancer.ie or call: 1800 200 700.
Listen to the interview here.
