Storyteller Liz Weir shares her own story of being diagnosed with rare cancer

Telling the story of her own cancer journey for the first time, Liz is backing a new Cancer Research UK campaign to help give hope to future generations.

The 72-year-old Co Antrim woman has written 27 books and received an MBE for her services to the arts and education in Northern Ireland. She’s dedicated her life to establishing story-telling groups for children and adults all over Ireland and 15 of her books are regularly used in schools to help with thinking and literacy skills.

She is also story-teller in residence for Northern Ireland libraries.

Now, in a bid to help other people, Liz is sharing her own personal story of being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer during lockdown.

With around 9,800 people diagnosed with cancer every year in Northern Ireland, Liz hopes to inspire people to play a part in the fight against the disease.

Liz said: “Research into better treatments has given me more precious time with my daughter Claire. It has allowed me to see another birthday, another Christmas and to get back out telling stories.

"I know I wouldn’t be here without the dedication of scientists who are relentlessly striving towards new discoveries and milestones month after month. This vital work needs our support.

"One in two people are now affected by cancer; everyone knows someone and every family must have somebody at this stage.

"I know times are tough but if people can give whatever they can afford it means that research can continue to bring even more treatments and cures and save more lives.”

On May 24, 2021, mum-of-one Liz was diagnosed with nasal melanoma, a nasal sinus cancer that starts in the lining of the space behind the nose or in the small air filled spaces within the bones close to the naval cavity. She was diagnosed following tests including a CT scan and a biopsy at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. Liz was referred to the Cancer Centre in Belfast City Hospital where she underwent surgery to remove the tumour.

She was then given Ipilimumab and Nivolumab, types of cancer treatment called immunotherapy.

The treatment works by blocking proteins that stop the immune system from working properly and attacking cancer cells. The drugs help to make the immune system find and kill cancer cells.

Liz said: “From the moment I stepped through the doors of the Cancer Centre I felt safe.

"The tumour was quite close to my eyes and brain so they couldn’t remove all of it and I had to have immunotherapy treatment.

"I was supposed to have four treatments but I reacted badly to the first one and spent 12 days in hospital recovering.

"It scared the life out of me and that was the only point I thought I was going to die. I could barely walk and was really weak and hadn’t eaten for three days. I did think at one stage ‘why me?’, but then one in two of us will get cancer now, so I realised that I’m that one.”

Liz was fitted for a radiotherapy mask, designed to keep her body as still as possible so radiotherapy treatment could be as accurate as possible.

Her talent for storytelling helped to keep her calm during five sessions of radiotherapy in total.

Liz said: “I looked at the masks online and they were scary but I just told myself stories to get me through for whatever number of minutes I was there.”

She has had regular scans to ensure that the tumour isn’t growing back and her most recent results confirmed the good news that it is in fact continuing to shrink.

Relieved that the treatment is working, she’s resumed hosting and taking part in workshops for people involved in the arts as well as running a hostel in her home village of Cushendall.

Now back to storytelling and doing what she loves most, she feels so grateful to be alive that she is doing what she can to give back.

Liz has joined the NI Cancer Research Consumer Forum providing valuable insights for the development of future treatments.

And she is delighted to team up with Cancer Research UK to urge people across Northern Ireland to give regularly to the charity to help fund long-term research projects that could drive new breakthroughs.

Life-saving cancer treatments are made by months and months of trialling, testing and learning. But monthly progress in research needs monthly donations.

Thanks to the generosity of its supporters, Cancer Research UK was able to spend more than £2 million in Belfast on some of the country’s leading scientific and clinical research.

Research happening right now in Belfast includes looking for new ways to treat breast cancer and improving treatment for bowel cancer.

While 2022 marks the charity’s 20th anniversary, its history dates back to the founding of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in 1902. During this time, its work has led to more than 50 cancer drugs used across the UK and around the world.

Cancer Research UK spokesperson for Northern Ireland, Jean Walsh, said: “One in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime, but all of us can help beat it.

"As we mark our 20th anniversary, we’re reflecting on how far we’ve come thanks to supporters like Liz.

"Monthly donations make a huge difference to advances such as this, because they allow us to plan for the future - and the more we can plan, the more projects we can fund to unlock more of cancer’s secrets. So we hope people will give regularly to the charity, if they can.”

To find out more about donating monthly to Cancer Research UK, go to cruk.org/donate