Lynsey Bennett has been reflecting on her health journey five years after she was first diagnosed with cervical cancer.
The Longford native has shared the first signs that something wasn't right at the time as her "head and body were both falling apart" from a range of symptoms.
The mum-of-two said that while one cancer patient can't be compared to the next, she had some key indicators that her health was in peril.
Sharing a throwback of images before she was diagnosed, Lynsey also issued an update on her health journey as she pursues more treatment that can help prolong her life.
She described her situation at the moment as "tricky", adding that her weight is the lowest it has ever been and she recently received a "hair raising" scan of a tumour.
Despite this, she is hopeful that "crucial" treatment in Germany will help her health become more "stable".
She said in a post on Instagram on Monday: "Today is 5 years since I was told I had Adenocarcinoma Cervical Cancer and that I’d have to go Dublin 2 days later the 19th of Jan where would be told need [a] radical hysterectomy.
"Looking back over these old pictures of only a month before I was told and it really makes you think what does someone with cancer look like?
"You really can’t judge a book by its cover. You also can’t compare one cancer patient to the next.
"To anyone who’s not me, I’d of just looked like a girl who was out, for Xmas work party, birthday celebrations, Stephen's night etc you wouldn’t know the bleed I would wake up to the next morning out of nowhere.
"Personally I knew when I looked in the mirror that there was no spark in my eyes anymore, I had to nap before I could even go out, I use to cry walking up stairs, my patience was short, I was snappy, I knew my head and my body were both falling apart. But I couldn’t understand why.
"Even now, I know people say how great I look, I love to hear it, because it gives me hope that all the hard work and sacrifice I do to try maintain the way I am…14 months ago I was given 6-8 months… I shouldn’t be alive let alone as mobile as I am."
Lynsey then shared her current health prognosis and the next steps she is taking on her treatment journey.
She said: "And don’t get me wrong I know things are tricky right now and I could show you a hair raising pic of one of my tumours I was allowed [to] take [a] pic of screen on Wednesday of MRI [a] couple [of] weeks ago and my weight is now 59.5kg prob lowest I’ve ever been in my life which means the cancer in my bowels is causing trouble and why getting my PET scan, getting to Germany and seeing if anything could be in anyway operable is crucial.
"I am even more in love with [the] clinic in Germany - finally got invoice last week and cost of my personal treatment plan after talking with their doctor on zoom… and it is half the price of what I thought it was going to be (after seeing negative review from a silly billy I was worried) but it’s around the €38,000 mark for 4 weeks.
"And more the €10k mark a week instead of the €20k a week it means if I have a good result aka: it gets things back to stable like Mexico then going back every couple of months for a week will be much more sustainable."
