Daytripper

Colm Dalton, 50, is the chef and publican of WG Daltons, Kinsale. He lives in Sandycove with his wife, Frances and two sons, Brendan (19) and Jack (17). Also a breast cancer survivor, Colm is actively involved in Kinsale Pink Ribbon Walk.

It might seem a bit strange but often my first thought is ‘am I alive?’ I’m of the belief that any day above ground is a good one. I wake up quite slowly; often at around 10am. Breakfast is usually coffee… I know I drink too much caffeine but I’m quite healthy otherwise, and porridge or some sort of bran.

The reason for the healthy diet is because at the back of my mind I'm always thinking, ‘well, you dodged one bullet but there is another coming’. I found out about six years ago that I had breast cancer. I was on holidays in Canada and my wife Frances said she felt a lump on my chest. It was maybe an inch or two shy of my nipple and I just thought it was a bite. So we got on with our holidays and it was only when I came back, I went to my doctor. She wasn’t happy with it either and sent me to the breast clinic at CUH, where they took a biopsy. I then went for a mammogram, which I think was the most painful part of the whole thing, as they place your breast between two plates and squeeze.

They aren’t really set up for men in the breast clinic. It was a strange thing, being the only guy there. They were sensitive though and once you get on the treadmill, things can work out very well for you. For all the bad press the Health Service Executive (HSE) gets, once you're in the system, they do look after you. They took a lump around the breast- about an inch and a half- and also took the nipple away. The testing confirmed it was breast cancer so they took some more tissue and removed the other breast as well, purely as a precautionary measure. My mother’s family has a history of breast cancer and my cousin also has the same gene as I have... it skipped into the male chromosome. Although I ended up having both breasts removed, for a man, it’s not as difficult as a decision as it would be for a woman. Women’s breasts are viewed in a different way. For a man, concealing it just means putting on a t-shirt.