Search for birth mother leads to life-saving discovery for NI woman

When Phyllis Gilmore made the decision to trace her birth mother it launched her family on a tragic but ultimately life-saving journey.

Within two years of started her search, Phyllis, who was adopted as a baby, had traced her mum who had married and had gone on to have more children.

However their reunion was to be short-lived as her mother had cancer and died with a few months of seeing her long-lost daughter.

Her passing, like every death to cancer, was sorrowful, but it also presented the family with vital information about an underlying hereditary health condition linked to breast cancer.

It was th Since having cancer, Maura has completely turned her life around beginning a new career as a personal trainer and focusing on her diet to make sure she is in top condition.

She has now extended her skills to teaching dance fitness, Soulsa and Clubbercize – something she say is really good for improving mental health.

She said: “I want to look after myself for my boys and I want them to be as healthy as possible. One day they will have to be tested for the gene, but I try not to think about it, or I would drive myself mad. I just try to make something positive out of something really negative.”

Maura is calling on people to sign up for a free fundraising kit now with everything they need to turn their home into an exclusive brunch spot.

Jean Walsh, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for NI, said: “We’re grateful to the Gilmore family for helping us to continue our mission. Cancer doesn’t stop in the face of a pandemic.

“It can affect anyone’s life, at any time so we only have one option: accelerate life-saving research.

“Thanks to the extra time spent at home lately, many of us now know our way around the kitchen much better than before. So why not put these new-found culinary skills to use while inspiring guests to dish up the dosh for a great cause.

“Cooking a special Sunday brunch for your household is a safe and simple way to show support during these challenging times. By taking part you’ll be rewarded with more than just empty plates. The donations your family or housemates make in support of your efforts really could save lives.”

For added inspiration, during October four special episodes of Sunday Brunch will be shown on Channel 4 showcasing some of the delicious Stand Up To Cancer recipes.

Get a free fundraising kit at su2c.org.uk/brunch. A Sunday Brunch mug is also available from Stand Up To Cancer’s online shop.

To find out more about Stand Up To Cancer and how you can support, visit su2c.org.uk or channel4.co.uk/SU2C or follow us on Facebook twitter of Instagram.

anks to this knowledge that the family were able to be tested for the BRCA2 gene.

Phyllis’ daughter Maura was one of those who had it, and will be forever grateful her mother decided to trace her ancestry.

She said: “Mum saw her a few times before she died and we all met our grandmother. Suddenly we had a whole new family, mum has brothers and sisters and we have uncles and aunts.

“It was a few months after granny passed away that we were told she carried the deadly BRCA2 gene and we had to get tested, only to discover that I, my mum, my younger sister and my brother are all carriers. I was a bit shocked when I found out I had the gene, but I thought I would be alright.”

Maura, from Kircubbin, said: “The doctor explained how inheriting a damaged version of the gene gives women a high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, and men of developing prostate cancer, but I didn’t think it would happen to me.

“No one close to me had ever had cancer, so I wasn’t really worried. I had just got married and wanted children, so I thought I would go ahead with that and think about the surgery when I was older.”

Any concerns she had slipped away when she became a mum to Shay, 10, and Cadain, who is nine. Then in 2012 her marriage broke down and with so many other things going on in her life, she didn’t really dwell on the subject of cancer.

Despite this, Maura continued to attend hospital appointments to ensure she remained cancer free. She had an MRI scan in December 2012 and thought nothing more about it.

She said: “I was looking forward to a fresh start and thought 2013 would be my year, after everything I had been through.”

However, she was called back for a mammogram and further tests before receiving the shattering news that she had breast cancer.

Maura recalled: “I just cried and cried. I couldn’t think straight and didn’t know what on earth I was going to do with two young boys – then aged two and one.

“I decided to have both breasts removed, as I had to take care of the boys and couldn’t risk the cancer coming back the next year. I just wanted the operation over and done with. You imagine this thing growing inside you and you just want them to rip it out.”

Maura’s boys moved in with her parents to allow her to recover after the operation: “Chemo was difficult and I got really depressed when my hair started to fall out, but that didn’t faze the boys at all until I put my wig on – that made them cry, so I didn’t bother wearing it. To be honest, it was the kids that got me through it.”

Maura had further surgery to remove her ovaries and began a course of medication to reduce her risk of the cancer returning.

She knows how lucky she is that her mum found her birth mother, because without that, she would not have been getting scanned, which is how her cancer was picked up. This also meant they had got it in time and it hadn’t spread.

She said: “The experience of being diagnosed and treated for cancer has helped me appreciate how crucial research is, so now I’m determined to help more people survive.

“With charities having been hit so hard by the coronavirus outbreak, it feels more important than ever for everyone to do what they can.”

For that reason Maura is taking part in Stand Up To Cancer and the research that it supports.

She commented: “A scientist funded by Cancer Research UK discovered the BRCA 2 gene back in 1995, so research saved my life.”