A Middlesbrough student who battled a cancer which affects only one in half a million people her age, is now looking to the future after being told she is in remission.
Morag McTiernan was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was just 19, two years after she initially went to her GP with concerns.
In summer 2011, Morag, who was then 17 and studying for her A-levels in performing arts at St Mary’s College, began to notice something wasn’t quite right with one of her breasts.
Morag, now 21, said: “I started getting nipple discharge so I went to the doctors but they told me it was nothing really. They thought it was a side effect of some antibiotics.”
Trying to put it to the back of her mind in the hope that it would clear, Morag continued with her studies which also included English literature and philosophy. However, the abnormality persisted and the pain got increasingly worse to the point where it began to affect Morag’s dancing.
In April 2013, Morag, who was an undergraduate at the University of Sunderland at this point, resorted to getting a second opinion from another GP.
She said: “I was getting a lot of pain and it was affecting my dancing and my arm movements.”
However, it wasn’t until June that year, when Morag was finally referred to the hospital for further tests.
Morag said: “I suspected something when I went to the hospital as I had to have an ultrasound scan, a mammogram and a biopsy.”
Having been given the devastating news at Sunderland Royal Hospital, Morag admits she had prepared for the worst.
She said: “I was expecting it, to be honest, because of all the different tests they did. I had a gut feeling that something wasn’t right.
“I kind of convinced myself it was cancer so that if it was it was not a shock and if it wasn’t it was a bonus.”
Morag underwent a mastectomy and a full reconstruction of the right breast in July 2013, just before her 20th birthday. This was followed by four weeks of radiotherapy and hormone treatment which she still receives now.
Morag, who refused to be beaten by the cancer started back at university following the summer break in the September.
She said: “It was horrible. I still don’t think I have come to terms with it now but I could not have just sat at home and done nothing.
“I think people were scared to ask anything in case they said the wrong thing but I was really open about it.
“I was just trying to carry on with life as normal.”
Despite dancing since the age of five and concentrating on dance throughout her recent studies, Morag has now learnt that she will never be able to become a professional dancer due to the restricted arm movement her cancer ordeal has left her with.
She will now take each day as it comes, believing that you can’t plan your life out because you don’t know what is around the corner.
Morag received the good news last month that she is now in remission as she prepares for her final degree performance in May.
Encouraging others to continue seeking advice if necessary, she said: “If there is something that is not right and something does not feel right for you then you should keep going back to the doctors until you get an explanation.”
Morag’s mum, Mhairi, 53, said: “The care we have had from numerous different people has been brilliant.
Morag’s dad, Peter, 57, added: “We have got no bad feelings towards the doctors. It is just so rare. The GP can’t know everything, about everyone and every disease. It is positives we are looking for out of this.”
Last year, Mhairi and Peter, who are alos parents to Aileen, 19 and Duncan, 17, caught the fundraising bug and ran the Great North Run on their 23rd wedding anniversary, raising over £3000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust. This year, Mhairi will be completing the Three Peaks Challenge in June.
As well as this, to celebrate Morag’s cancer recovery, Peter, who is a member of the Apollo Male Voice Choir in Teesside, has oraganised a gala concert featuring Egglescliffe School Chamber Choir.
The concert will take place on Friday, March 13 at St Mary’s Cathedral in Coulby Newham.
To purchase tickets for the concert call 01642 821866 or email thornfield18@btinternet.com. Tickets can also be purchased online at http://bit.ly/1LP5fYz .
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