​Co Antrim dad diagnosed with skin cancer after family Zoom quiz

Kieran Drinkwater from Lisburn and his wife Emma joined his parents, uncles, aunts, brother and sister for a weekly quiz during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was during one of these get-togethers in December 2020 that his mum first remarked on the mole on his forehead.

He said: “Mum asked, ‘what’s that on your head?’

“I asked her what she meant. She pointed to a black dot and said she couldn’t remember seeing it before. I just said it was a mole and it had been there for as long as I could remember.

“It must have planted a seed of doubt in my mind as a couple of months later I decided to fish out some old photographs to see if it had grown. I found some from when Eliza was born which was just a few years earlier and the difference was like night and day.

“Back then it was a tiny dot like you would make with a ball point pen and it had grown to about the size of a five pence piece or even a little bigger than that.

“It was a pretty significant contrast but I told myself I wasn’t going to panic.”

Kieran realised that the fact that his mole had grown and changed shape were possible indicators that it could be cancerous and he contacted his GP in March 2021.

Still in lockdown, doctors were not seeing patients face-to-face and he was asked to send photographs of his mole to his GP who made an emergency referral.

“My doctor was concerned enough to make a red flag referral but because of Covid-19 the hospitals were so busy that I was told it could be a wait of six weeks for the appointment" he added.

“I wasn’t prepared to wait and I booked to have the mole removed at a private clinic in Hillsborough. lt was a fair bit of money but I feel fortunate that we were able to afford it.

“After it was removed, I had to wait three weeks on the results of a biopsy to find out if it was cancerous or not. That was the worst part for me and the three weeks felt like months and months.

"While I did try to be optimistic, I think I knew in my heart of hearts it was cancer. I’m young; I’m relatively healthy and have had no significant health issues, so it was a shock when I was told it was cancer.

“It is hard to describe how you feel when you get that news. It was like I was being pushed down a corridor and hearing it from a distance, it was a bizarre experience; I just had this feeling of disbelief at what I was hearing.

“I was in shock and I sat in complete silence for a while before I told my wife as I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to tell her without crying.

“On a positive note, skin cancer is one form of cancer which they know a lot about and they were hopeful that with further surgery it would be all gone.”

Kieran had another operation on June 21, 2021 to ensure any remaining cancer cells were removed and was relieved to be given the all-clear in August.

Cancer Research UK chose Kieran as their VIP starter for their recent Race for Life Belfast

He was joined by his daughters Eliza, six, and Ivy, three, at the start line to cheer on more than 2,000 people who took part in the 5k and 10k courses. A total of £122,210 was raised at the event at Stormont on Sunday May 28, vital funds which will enable scientists to find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer- helping to save more lives.

Every year around 10,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in Northern Ireland and one in two people in the UK born after 1960 will get cancer in their lifetime.

Now organisers of Race for Life Belfast are sending out a heartfelt message of thanks to everyone who took part. And they’re appealing for people to make every step count by paying in sponsorship money as soon as possible.

Jean Walsh, Cancer Research UK’s spokeswoman in Northern Ireland, said: “We are incredibly grateful to everyone who took part in Race for Life Belfast.

“Life-saving research is being funded right now thanks to our supporters who fundraise. The atmosphere at Race for Life Belfast was hugely moving - full of emotion, courage, tears and laughter as people celebrated the lives of those dear to them who have survived cancer and remembered loved ones lost to the disease.

“Now we’re asking everyone who took part to return the money they’re raised as soon as possible. Funds raised - whether it’s £10 or £100 - will help scientists find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, helping save more lives.”

Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life, in partnership with headline sponsor Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, is an inspiring series of 3k, 5k, 10k, Pretty Muddy and Pretty Muddy Kids events which raise millions of pounds every year to help beat cancer by funding crucial research.

It raises funds for world-class research to help beat 200 types of cancer – including bowel cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung, testicular cancer, brain cancer, children’s cancers and leukaemia.

Race for Life has raised over £940m towards life-saving research since it began 30 years ago.

More than 10m participants have taken part in Race for Life events since 1994, fundraising for Cancer Research UK Find out more and sign up atraceforlife.org