AN author and podcaster is to give a talk about her experiences of being a breast-cancer patient as well as a breast surgeon.
Dr Liz O’Riordan is due to speak at a fundraising event at the Jersey Museum on Friday, when she will also cover topics such as mental health, the menopause, the myths and facts of cancer, intimacy and supporting cancer patients as a medical professional, friend or family member. The event is being supported by Lorna Pirozzolo and Ports of Jersey.
Mrs Pirozzolo, a member of the Ports team and founder of the local organisation cancer.je, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018. After struggling with fatigue and anxiety from her cancer treatments, she decided to bring all the Jersey-specific information on cancer support into one place, after finding it hard to do so on her own.
Mrs Pirozzolo then founded cancer.je in order to benefit those in the Island and supply trustworthy links, support and information to those in need. She said: ‘While researching information on breast cancer, I came across the work of Dr O’Riordan.
‘She is clearly very popular among both patients and medical professionals on social media and gives educational talks to cancer professionals in the UK. I thought it would be great to invite her to Jersey so interested Islanders could meet her in person and benefit from her experience’.
Dr O’Riordan has co-written The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer and has just finished her second book, Under the Knife, as well as having her own podcast, Don’t Ignore the Elephant, where she opens up about personal and uncomfortable subjects with celebrities.
Mrs Pirozzolo continued: ‘She’s quirky and speaks her mind. It should be an interesting evening.’
Audience members can find tickets to the event at cancer.je. All the funds raised from the event will go to ABC Breast Cancer Support Jersey.
