Family grateful for cancer treatment fundraiser support
Caitriona Logan received life-changing news on October 2 when she was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour; now the 36-year-old mother of two is hoping to receive specialised treatment in the US.
A fundraiser set up to help pay for the treatment has raised €244,000 (at the time of writing) since its launch on December 19, and Caitriona’s sister Sarah told the Westmeath Examiner how the family has been blown away by the public outcry of support. “The reaction has just been beyond anything we could have imagined,” she said. “The fundraiser had got more than €200,000 in less than 48 hours.
“It just exploded and it’s been incredible. People have been so good and the generosity has been amazing.”
A number of donations have been anonymous too, Sarah said. “We have so many anonymous donations, from €1,000, €5,000, and even one €10,000 donation, and we don’t know who made it,” she said.
“St Cremin’s NS in Multyfarnham, who we have no connection to, had a day where all of the kids gave in €2 and they got us €700 from that, which was incredible,” she said.
“The Westmeath GAA team did a sponsored workout for us, we were up meeting Dessie Dolan, Jason Sherlock, and all of the lads – who have been great to us.”
Caitriona was first made aware something was up from her eyesight, on occasion, according to her sister.
“She had nothing concrete, but some kind of blurred vision the odd time,” said Sarah.
“She would have feelings of pressure in her head sometimes if she was lying down and playing with the kids – stuff like that. It was the vision issues and blurriness that she had and complained to a colleague about, and the colleague convinced her to go in and get a scan.”
Caitriona was diagnosed with a Grade 4 astrocytoma, which has an average survival time of 12-18 months. It was “life-shattering” for the family.
“It’s been a huge shock and we’ve just spent the last two months working out what to do – we knew it was a terminal diagnosis,” said Sarah.
“She’s still energetic, and positive and is enjoying herself as much as possible while taking every opportunity to be with friends, family, and her kids.
“She is going about her day-to-day life, functioning as much as possible, and staying positive.”
Caitriona’s children are Kitty and Barra, aged three and one, and her husband is Leo.
Sarah described her sister as an “amazing person”. “[Caitriona] is brilliant, she’s hilarious, kind, and is the life and soul of wherever she is,” she said.
“She’s full of energy, full of beans and so intelligent, as you can imagine, being a doctor. She’s quick-witted too, really sharp; a bubbly and positive person, who is just gas.”
A number of other members of the Logan family are medical practitioners too, according to Sarah.
“Caitriona is a radiographer in Regional Hospital Mullingar, where my dad had been too, and is now retired,” she said. “The type of doctor she is, she actually diagnoses this type of cancer that she has. She unfortunately knows, and knew immediately after her scan, what she was in for.”
United States
The hope now is for Caitriona to get on a trial treatment programme in the US that specialises in her type of cancer.
“Our other sister Roisin is a pharmacist and has been researching trial treatments over in America and contacting people,” said Sarah.
“There are two trials that we’re hoping to get on, one is in Boston. They are trying out new types of treatment to see what works and what doesn’t work. “We’re doing it in the hope that whatever trial she goes on ends up being effective and it can help her.”
Sarah said money not spent on treatments will go towards the Irish Cancer Society. “Either way, whether it’s used for Caitriona’s treatment or used for the Irish cancer society it’s all going towards research, finding cures and treatments,” she said.
Donations towards Caitriona’s treatment can be made at GoFundMe.