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Lisa Broderick, pictured with her daughter Holly and son Paddy, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Photo: Michelle Breen Crean
A GOFUNDME page has been set up for a Kerry mother-of-three who was diagnosed with terminal cancer last year.
Lisa Broderick (47) lives in The Cloisters, Abbeydorney with two of her three children; Holly (13) and Paddy (11) who are dependent on her in every way. Her older daughter Siún (23) is currently working and living in Dublin.
Lisa, originally from Lisanearla just outside Tralee, previously underwent treatment for breast cancer in 2019 and was relieved when she got the all-clear in 2020.
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However, in June last year Lisa was devastated to learn her cancer had not only returned but is terminal and she’s been given just five years to live.
She had been suffering from shoulder and rib pain for months but put it down to driving for her job at the time. Following a visit to the GP, she went for an MRI and then a CT scan which revealed that she had two tumours in her liver.
“I was completely and utterly devastated,” Lisa said. “I went back to work quite soon after getting the all clear. There was a lot of driving involved and I’d take painkillers for the pain. Never once did I think something like this.”
Speaking about the future and her children she said that “the reality is I won’t see them in their 20s”.
“It’s very tough on everyone. We’re a very close unit here, it’s heart-breaking for them.”
Lisa has had no choice but to leave her full-time job due to her many appointments and coping with the side effects that come with the treatment to prolong her life.
Her goal is to raise enough funds to be able to afford days out with her children in the time she has left with them, and leave lasting memories for them to cherish.
The GoFundMe, set up last year, is to help ease the financial burden for Lisa and her family and help add some security for the children’s future.
She wants “to ease the financial stress” on them for when she’s no longer here with them. “They’re my absolute world, it’s all about them,” said Lisa.
All donations, no matter how small, are greatly appreciated by the family. See https://www.gofundme.com/f/lisa-broderick for more.
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